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Papers by Nick Randall

Research paper thumbnail of Three Faces of New Labour: Principle, Pragmatism and Populism in New Labour’s Home Office

Governing as New Labour

Abstract This chapter examines the varied policies criminal justice civil liberties immigration a... more Abstract This chapter examines the varied policies criminal justice civil liberties immigration and asylum enacted by New Labour through the Home Office since 1997. It argues that these policies represent a complex mix of principle in reference to the ideas of both New ...

Research paper thumbnail of Theresa May’s disjunctive premiership: Choice and constraint in political time

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

Theresa May’s premiership is widely acknowledged to have been a failure, but political commentato... more Theresa May’s premiership is widely acknowledged to have been a failure, but political commentators and the scholarly literature have, thus far, tended to focus on May’s misuse of her agency. This article argues that May’s premiership presents a particularly powerful example of the need to disentangle structure and agency when assessing prime ministerial performance. Drawing upon the work of Stephen Skowronek, it sets out a framework of evaluating prime ministerial agency in ‘political time’. This is then used to show how the conditions and circumstances in which May governed limited the feasibility, increased the costs, and compromised the effectiveness of her actions in office. We argue that this confirms that May was a victim of circumstances as much as a victim of her own agency.

Research paper thumbnail of New Labour, the Third Way and Social Democracy: An Ideological Assessment

Research paper thumbnail of Cast from the same pro-european mould ?

Politique Europeenne, Jun 1, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Territorial Politics

Cameron and the Conservatives, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Celtic Exceptionalism? Scottish and Welsh Parliamentarians' Attitudes to Europe

The Political Quarterly, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Imagining the Polity: Cinema and Television Fictions as Vernacular Theories of British Politics

Parliamentary Affairs, 2011

... Alan Bleasdale maintains that Michael Murray was not inspired by Derek Hatton, but that the p... more ... Alan Bleasdale maintains that Michael Murray was not inspired by Derek Hatton, but that the principal characters of GBH were manifestations of ... For Liesbet van Zoonen, 'The actions and promises of politicians make more sense when they can be framed as part of a narrative ...

Research paper thumbnail of Time and British politics: Memory, the present and teleology in the politics of New Labour

British Politics, 2009

Abstract This paper seeks to consider the New Labour project using insights drawn from a growing ... more Abstract This paper seeks to consider the New Labour project using insights drawn from a growing literature on temporality. The paper first explores New Labour's partisan and complex mobilisation of memory. It is argued that the disarticulation of the party from its ...

Research paper thumbnail of No Friends in the North? The Conservative Party in Northern England

The Political Quarterly, Apr 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluating British Prime Ministerial Performance: David Cameron’s premiership in political time

This article contributes to the developing literature on prime ministerial performance in the Uni... more This article contributes to the developing literature on prime ministerial performance in the United Kingdom by applying a critical reading of Stephen Skowronek’s account of leadership in ‘political time’ to evaluate David Cameron’s premiership. This, we propose, better understands the inter-relationship of structure and agency in prime ministerial performance than existing frameworks, particularly those based on Greenstein’s and Bulpitt’s approaches. We identify Cameron as a disjunctive prime minister, but find it necessary significantly to develop the model of disjunctive leadership beyond that offered by Skowronek. We identify the warrants to authority, strategies and dilemmas associated with disjunctive leadership in the United Kingdom. We argue that Cameron was relatively skilful in meeting many of the challenges confronting an affiliated leader of a vulnerable regime. However, his second term exposed deep fractures in the regime, which proved beyond Cameron’s skills as a disjunctive leader.

Research paper thumbnail of Three Faces of New Labour: Principle, Pragmatism and Populism in New Labour’s Home Office

Governing as New Labour

Abstract This chapter examines the varied policies criminal justice civil liberties immigration a... more Abstract This chapter examines the varied policies criminal justice civil liberties immigration and asylum enacted by New Labour through the Home Office since 1997. It argues that these policies represent a complex mix of principle in reference to the ideas of both New ...

Research paper thumbnail of Theresa May’s disjunctive premiership: Choice and constraint in political time

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

Theresa May’s premiership is widely acknowledged to have been a failure, but political commentato... more Theresa May’s premiership is widely acknowledged to have been a failure, but political commentators and the scholarly literature have, thus far, tended to focus on May’s misuse of her agency. This article argues that May’s premiership presents a particularly powerful example of the need to disentangle structure and agency when assessing prime ministerial performance. Drawing upon the work of Stephen Skowronek, it sets out a framework of evaluating prime ministerial agency in ‘political time’. This is then used to show how the conditions and circumstances in which May governed limited the feasibility, increased the costs, and compromised the effectiveness of her actions in office. We argue that this confirms that May was a victim of circumstances as much as a victim of her own agency.

Research paper thumbnail of New Labour, the Third Way and Social Democracy: An Ideological Assessment

Research paper thumbnail of Cast from the same pro-european mould ?

Politique Europeenne, Jun 1, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Territorial Politics

Cameron and the Conservatives, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Celtic Exceptionalism? Scottish and Welsh Parliamentarians' Attitudes to Europe

The Political Quarterly, 2002

Research paper thumbnail of Imagining the Polity: Cinema and Television Fictions as Vernacular Theories of British Politics

Parliamentary Affairs, 2011

... Alan Bleasdale maintains that Michael Murray was not inspired by Derek Hatton, but that the p... more ... Alan Bleasdale maintains that Michael Murray was not inspired by Derek Hatton, but that the principal characters of GBH were manifestations of ... For Liesbet van Zoonen, 'The actions and promises of politicians make more sense when they can be framed as part of a narrative ...

Research paper thumbnail of Time and British politics: Memory, the present and teleology in the politics of New Labour

British Politics, 2009

Abstract This paper seeks to consider the New Labour project using insights drawn from a growing ... more Abstract This paper seeks to consider the New Labour project using insights drawn from a growing literature on temporality. The paper first explores New Labour's partisan and complex mobilisation of memory. It is argued that the disarticulation of the party from its ...

Research paper thumbnail of No Friends in the North? The Conservative Party in Northern England

The Political Quarterly, Apr 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of Evaluating British Prime Ministerial Performance: David Cameron’s premiership in political time

This article contributes to the developing literature on prime ministerial performance in the Uni... more This article contributes to the developing literature on prime ministerial performance in the United Kingdom by applying a critical reading of Stephen Skowronek’s account of leadership in ‘political time’ to evaluate David Cameron’s premiership. This, we propose, better understands the inter-relationship of structure and agency in prime ministerial performance than existing frameworks, particularly those based on Greenstein’s and Bulpitt’s approaches. We identify Cameron as a disjunctive prime minister, but find it necessary significantly to develop the model of disjunctive leadership beyond that offered by Skowronek. We identify the warrants to authority, strategies and dilemmas associated with disjunctive leadership in the United Kingdom. We argue that Cameron was relatively skilful in meeting many of the challenges confronting an affiliated leader of a vulnerable regime. However, his second term exposed deep fractures in the regime, which proved beyond Cameron’s skills as a disjunctive leader.

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