Research

I am a specialist in British Politics, governance, leadership, and institutions. My particular focus is on political communication and voting behaviour(s) on which I have written and/or edited a number of books and journal articles. At present my Google Scholar citations are 758 with a h-index of 17 and a i10-index of 24.

My research interest in political communication examines how the language used by politicians informs the health of a liberal democratic society. I do this by applying ancient world theories pertaining to political oratory and rhetoric upon contemporary British political leaders and concepts. This enables me to produce original research across a number of sub-fields which include Parliamentary behaviour, Conservative Party politics, Labour Party politics and the study of political ideology.

Moreover, I also sit on the Editorial Boards of two interdisciplinary international journals. The first is Global Discourse, and the second is the 'Humanities & Social Sciences Communications' journal. As an active member of both, I nominate reviewers and accept/decline research papers, as required. Internally, I am also a co-director (with Dr David Jeffery and Prof Bruce Gibson) of the Network for the Interface of Classics and Politics; and the departmental research cluster for Government, Parties and Elections (led by Dr Luca Bernardi). I am also associated with the British Politics Research Group.

There are two major long-running research projects with which I am associated. The first is a collaborative project that concerns leadership selection and ideologies of MPs and the voting behaviour of MPs. The second concerns political language in contemporary and post-war British Politics, as well as the application of rhetorical theories of the ancient world.

The first research project is structured around a research team comprised of Dr Timothy Heppell (Leeds), Dr David Jeffery (Liverpool), Dr Oliver Booth (Leeds), and Dr Chris Butler (Antwerp, Belgium). This research project has produced an extensive series of quantitative studies on explaining MPs voting behaviour in the UK House of Commons. Themes within the project include (but are not limited to) attitudes towards leadership selection; international aid; Brexit. These studies have appeared in leading national and international academic journals such as the Journal of Common Market Studies; Parliamentary Affairs; the British Journal of Politics and International Relations; Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties; British Politics, and Representation. As national and international political and social worlds continue to rapidly and unpredictably change over 2025, we are renewing our research and publication strategy to produce comparative studies of high quality, distinctive, and methodologically robust original scholarly outputs focused on key issues within British Politics.

The second research project has also published extensively, with a particular focus on political communication. This research has appeared in Global Discourse, Contemporary British History, Politics and Religion, and the Journal of Legislative Studies. As part of the project I have also produced a series of knowledge exchange 'think pieces' for Political Quarterly, The Fabian Review, Political Insight, and Renewal: Journal of Social Democracy, as well as online outlets such as The Conversation, the UK in a Changing Europe, and the ECPR blog 'The Loop'.

A further solo-research project is a substantive study of Boris Johnson's rhetorical style whilst he was Prime Minister. This will produce a monograph, and is under contract with Manchester University Press. The book is due for completion during 2025, and will be my third authored work. Previously, I have (co)-authored a study of leadership selection entitled Choosing Party Leaders: Britain's Labour and Conservative Party Compared (with Prof Peter Dorey (Cardiff) and Dr Andrew Denham (Nottingham)), and a further study (with Dr Heppell (Leeds) and Prof Dorey (Cardiff)) analysed political communication using the rhetorical theories from the ancient world. This produced a book entitled 'The Political Rhetoric and Oratory of Margaret Thatcher', which was published by Palgrave in 2016.

Plus I am currently finalising a special edition for the journal Global Discourse that examines the contemporary significance of political rhetoric nationally and internationally. This follows an academic symposium at Liverpool in January 2024. I am also contributing a chapter on Theresa May's leadership to a forthcoming updated book on British Conservative Leaders for Biteback (edited by Prof Toby James (UEA) & fmr Home Secretary, Prof Charles Clarke). Also, (with Dr Heppell) I am contributing a chapter on the influence of Thatcherism on Conservative Party leadership elections since 1990, which will appear in a collection entitled 'Margaret Thatcher: Her Life, Work and Legacy' for Edward Elgar Publishing (edited by the Prof Lord Norton of Louth & Matt Beech, Hull).

Moreover, I am the (co)-editor and organiser of a several academic studies that have appeared with Palgrave, Manchester University Press, Agenda Publishers, and Biteback. My current projects (with Dr Jeffery) examines the failed "statecraft" of Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak during the final term of the previous Conservative government. This project includes an academic workshop in July 2025, and is due for completion in 2026. Moreover, for Routledge we are developing a substantive study of 50+ chapters that scrutinises the complete 'History of the Conservative Party', which is also due for publication in 2026. Both projects involve established and early career historians, sociologists, and political experts of conservatism and Conservative Party studies which will produce comprehensive studies of the Party, leaderships, and its multifaceted evolution. These projects are also the basis of a series of events including academic symposiums and knowledge exchange events over the term of the projects.

Completed collaborative projects include (with D. Jeffery) "statecraft" and the political leadership of Theresa May's time as leader of the Conservative Party, (Palgrave). This followed an academic study on Jeremy Corbyn's time and legacy as leader of the Labour Party (Agenda Publishers), and an academic study (with Dr Heppell, Leeds) on the legacy of Edward Heath entitled Policies and Politics Under Prime Minister Edward Heath (Palgrave) and his significance on British conservatism and Conservative Party politics. Moreover, I have completed academic studies on the legacies of Harold Wilson (with Dr Kevin Hickson, Liverpool) and the styles of communication in the US, examining Republican Orators (with Dr Sophia Hatzisavvidou, Bath) and Democratic Orators (with Dr David S. Moon, Bath; and Prof Robert Lehrman, American University, Washington DC). Finally, I have produced collections that examine communication styles in UK political parties, such as Conservative Orators (with Dr Richard Hayton, Leeds) and Labour Orators (with Dr Hayton, Leeds).

As part of my continuing professional development, in 2024 I completed a study using phenomenography (within the broader field of interpretivism) to examine 'entertaining videos' as educational tools. This included an examination of institutional curriculum frameworks and their importance to solidifying improved learning standards and outcomes.

In September 2021, I presented a 'memorial tribute' to Dr Judi Atkins at the Annual Anglo-American Studies Roundtable in Prague. She was a respected and defining scholar in political communication, and appears heavily on POLI252 & POLI323 reading lists. The tribute can be read here.

Select Journal Articles

(2025, with David Jeffery and Timothy Heppell) 'Backing Badenoch: The Conservative Party Leadership Election of 2024', Parliamentary Affairs, forthcoming.

(2025) 'Political Rhetoric and Democratic Discourse', Global Discourse, forthcoming.

(2024, with David Jeffery & Timothy Heppell) 'Divisions within the British Parliamentary Labour Party under Keir Starmer: Results of a Cluster Analysis', British Politics, 19, 390-410. Full text..

(2024, with Oliver Booth, Chris Butler, David Jeffery) 'Selecting Sunak: Conservative MPs’ Nomination Preferences in the (Second) British Conservative Party Leadership Election', Parliamentary Affairs, 77 (3), 450-69. Full text.

(2024) ''The Wind of Change': A Rhetorical Political Analysis of Harold Macmillan's 1960 'decolonization' Speech', British Politics, 19, 46-63. Full text.

(2023) 'The End of the Rhetorical Line? The ‘Partygate’ Investigation into former UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson', Political Quarterly 94 (3), 475-80. Full text.

(2023, with David Jeffery, Timothy Heppell, and Chris Butler) 'Trusting Truss: Conservative MPs’ Voting Preferences in the (First) British Conservative Party Leadership Election of 2022', Representation, 59 (4), 555-72. Full Text.

(2023, with Thomas McMeeking and Timothy Heppell) 'Prime Ministerial Power of Patronage: Ideology and Cabinet Selection under Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990', British Politics, 18, 1-19. Full Text.

(2022) 'The Degenerative Tendencies of Long-Serving Governments… 1963… 1996… 2009… the Conservatives in 2022?' Political Quarterly, 93 (2), 336-41. Full Text.

(2022, with David Jeffery and Timothy Heppell) 'The Conservative Party Leadership Election of 2019', Parliamentary Affairs, 75 (1), 113-34. Full Text.

(2021) 'A Problem of Communication: The Labour Leadership of Keir Starmer', Political Insight, 12 (4), 22-4. Full Text.

(2021, with Timothy Heppell & David Jeffery) 'Selecting Starmer:The Nomination Preferences of Labour Parliamentarians in the 2020 Labour Party Leadership Election', Representation, 58 (4), 565-83. Full Text.

(2021, with Timothy Heppell and David Jeffery) 'Theresa May and the Conservative Party Leadership Confidence Motion of 2018: Analysing the Voting Behaviour of Conservative Parliamentarians', British Politics, 16, 317-35. Full Text.

(2020, with Timothy Heppell) 'Legitimising Euroscepticism? The Construction, Delivery and Significance of the Bruges Speech', Contemporary British History, 34 (2), 204-27. Full Text.

(2019) Boris Johnson and the Future of British Conservatism, Political Insight, 10 (3), 4-6. Full Text.

(2019) Improving Democratic Discourse in UK General Election and Referendum Campaigns, Political Quarterly, 90 (2), 310-13. Full Text.

(2018, with David Jeffery, Richard Hayton, Timothy Heppell) 'The Conservative Party leadership election of 2016: An Analysis of the Voting Motivations of Conservative Parliamentarians', Parliamentary Affairs, 71 (2), 263-82. Full Text.

(2018, with Timothy Heppell and David Jeffery) 'The British Labour Party and the Leadership Election Mandate(s) of Jeremy Corbyn: Patterns of Opinion and Opposition within the Parliamentary Labour Party', Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties, 28 (3), 361-79. Full Text.

(2017, with Timothy Heppell and David Jeffery), 'The United Kingdom Government and the 0.7 Percent International Aid Target: Factors Influencing Attitudes Amongst Conservative Parliamentarians', British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 19 (4), 895-909. Full Text.

(2017, with Stuart McAnulla) 'The Rhetoric of Alex Salmond and the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum', British Politics, 12, 473-91. Full Text.

(2017) 'Transforming Labour: The 'New' Labour Leadership of Jeremy Corbyn', Political Insight, 8 (2), 26-29. Full Text.

(2017, with Timothy Heppell and David Jeffery) 'The United Kingdom Referendum on European Union Membership: The Voting of Conservative Parliamentarians', Journal of Common Market Studies, 55 (4), 762-78. Full Text.

(2017, with Timothy Heppell) 'Rhetorical Style and Issue Emphasis within the Conference Speeches of UKIP’s Nigel Farage 2010-2014', British Politics, 12 (2), 231-49. Full Text.

(2016, with Timothy Heppell) 'Conservative Ministers in the Coalition Government of 2010-15: Evidence of Bias in the Ministerial Selections of David Cameron?', Journal of Legislative Studies, 22 (3), 385-403. Full Text.

(2016, with Timothy Heppell and Michael Hill) ‘Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood Speech: A Rhetorical Political Analysis’, British Politics 11, 72-94. Full Text.

(2015, with Kevin Theakston) ‘Doing God in Number 10’: British Prime Ministers, Religion and Political Rhetoric’, Politics and Religion, 8 (1), 155-77. Full Text.

(2015) 'Reforming Labour: The Labour Leadership of Jeremy Corbyn', Political Insight, 6 (3), 4-7. Full Text.

(2015) 'The Rhetoric of Neoliberalism in the Politics of Crisis', Global Discourse, 5 (1), 116-29. Full Text.

(2015) ‘The Epideictic Oratory of Barack Obama’, Global Discourse, 5 (4), 616-618. Full Text.

(2014) ‘Harold Wilson’s Rhetoric: Revisiting Wilsonian Language of Renewal’, Renewal Journal of Social Democracy, 22 (3-4), 128-34. Full Text.

(2013) 'Why did Boris Johnson win the 2012 Mayoral election?', Public Policy and Administration Research, 3 (9), 1-7. Full Text.

(2013) ‘Rhetoric and the Coalition: Governing in the National Interest?’ Representation, 49 (2), 207-18. Full Text.

(2013) ‘An Analysis of George Galloway’s Oratorical and Rhetorical Impact’, Politics, 33 (2), 81-90. Full Text.

(2012, with Jamie Halsall) 'Remoulding Welfare Britain: The Philosophy of the Big Society in Cameron's Britain', Public Policy and Administrative Research', 2 (7). Full Text.

(2011, with Timothy Heppell) ‘How Michael Foot Won the Labour Party Leadership’, Political Quarterly, 82 (1), 81-94. Full Text.

(2010, with Timothy Heppell) ‘Ideological Alignments Within the Parliamentary Labour Party and the Leadership Election of 1976’, British Politics, 5 (1), 65-91. Full Text.

Authored Books and Collections

(2026, edited with David Jeffery) The Conservative Premierships of Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak: Failed Party Renewal after Boris Johnson. (Under contract, workshop in production for July 2025).

(2026, edited with David Jeffery) Routledge Handbook of the History of the Conservative Party, Oxford. (Under contract).

(2023, edited with David Jeffery) Statecraft: Policies and Politics under Prime Minister Theresa May, Palgrave.

(2020, authored with Andrew Denham and Peter Dorey) Choosing Party Leaders Britain's Conservatives and Labour Compared, Manchester University Press.

(2021) Corbynism in Perspective The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn, Columbia University Press/Agenda Books.

(2020, edited with Timothy Heppell) Policies and Politics Under Prime Minister Edward Heath, Palgrave.

(2017, edited with Sophia Hatzisavvidou) Republican Orators from Eisenhower to Trump, Palgrave.

(2016, authored with Timothy Heppell and Peter Dorey) The Political Rhetoric and Oratory of Margaret Thatcher, Palgrave.

(2016, edited with Kevin Hickson) Harold Wilson: The Unprincipled Prime Minister? Reappraising Harold Wilson Biteback.

(2016, edited with David S. Moon and Robert Lehrman) Democratic Orators from JFK to Barack Obama, Palgrave.

(2015, edited with Richard Hayton) Conservative orators From Baldwin to Cameron, Manchester University Press. Commissioned through the ‘New Perspectives on the Right’ series.

(2015, edited with Richard Hayton), Labour orators from Bevan to Miliband Manchester University Press.

Select Book Chapters

(2025) 'Theresa May' in Clarke, C. & James, T. (eds.). British Conservative Leaders, Biteback.

(2025, with Timothy Heppell) 'The Legacy of Thatcherism: The Influence of Thatcherite Ideology upon Conservative Party Leadership Elections since 1990' in Norton, P. & Beech, M. (eds.). Margaret Thatcher: Her Life, Work and Legacy, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.

(2023, with John-Paul Salter) 'I'm not going to call a snap election' - Theresa May and the 2017 General Election' in Roe-Crines, A & Jeffery, D. (eds.). Statecraft: Policies and Politics Under Prime Minister Theresa May, Palgrave.

(2021) "Oh Jeremy Corbyn!" The Mission to Renew Labour' in Roe-Crines, A. (ed.) Corbynism in Perspective, Agenda.

(2021) 'The Rhetorical Portrayal of Public Servants' in Sullivan, H & Dickinson, H. (eds.), The Palgrave Handbook of the Public Servant, Palgrave.

(2020) 'Who Governs? The General Election Defeats of 1974' in Roe-Crines, A & Heppell, T. (eds.), Policies and Politics Under Prime Minister Edward Heath, Palgrave.

(2020) 'Margaret Thatcher and the Rhetorical Road to Brexit' in Mullen, A., Farrall, S & Jeffery, D. (eds.), Thatcherism in the 21st Century The Social and Cultural Legacy, Palgrave.

(2017, with David Dolowitz) 'The Oratory of Donald Trump' in Crines, A. & Hatzisavvidou, S. (eds.),Republican Orators from Eisenhower to Trump, Palgrave.

(2017, with Stuart McAnulla) 'The Rhetorical Personas of George Galloway and Tommy Sheridan', Atkins, J. & Gaffney, J. (eds.) Voices of the UK Left Rhetoric: Ideology and the Performance of Politics, Palgrave.

(2016) 'The Rhetoric of the EU Referendum Campaign', Jackson, D., Thompson, E., Wring, D (eds.) EU Referendum Analysis 2016: Media, Voters and the Campaign: Early reflections from leading UK academics', PSA/CCRICC/CSJCC Report.

(2016) 'Harold Wilson as Orator', Crines A. and Hickson, K (eds.), Harold Wilson: The Unprincipled Prime Minister? Reappraising Harold Wilson, Biteback.

(2016, with Robert Lehrman) ‘The oratory of Barack Obama’ in Crines, A., Moon, D., and Lehrman, R. (eds.), Democratic Orators from JFK to Barack Obama, Palgrave.

(2015) ‘The oratory of Ed Miliband’ in Crines, A. and Hayton, R. (eds.), Labour orators from Bevan to Miliband, Manchester University Press.

(2015, with Keith Laybourn) ‘The oratory of Aneurin Bevan’ in Crines, A. and Hayton, R. (eds.), Labour orators from Bevan to Miliband, Manchester University Press.

(2014) ‘Spitting Image and Political British Comedy’, in Atkins, J., Finlayson, A., Martin, J., Turnbull, N. (eds.), Rhetoric in British Politics and Society, Palgrave.

Research collaborations

Dr Timothy Heppell

Ongoing projects on ideological divisions within British political parties

University of Leeds

Co-author

Selecting Sunak - Conservative Leadership

University of Antwerp, Belgium

Co-author

Professor Jerry Miller

Global Discourse Special Edition

Ohio University, Athens, US

Author

Dr Kevin Hickson

Harold Wilson as the UK Prime Minister

Co-Editor

Professor David Dolowitz

The Oratory of Donald Trump

Co-author

Dr John-Paul Salter

Theresa May, Statecraft, and the 2017 General Election

University College London

Co-author

Dr William Coles

Global DIscourse Special Edition

Royal Holloway, University of London

Author

Dr Richard Johnson

Global Discourse Special Edition

Queen Mary, University of London

Author

Dr Daniel Pitt

Global DIscourse Special Edition

Author

Dr Neil Visalvanich

Global Discourse Special Edition

Durham University

Author

Professor Robert Lehrman

The Oratory of Barack Obama

American University, Washington

Co-author

Dr Thomas McMeeking

Prime Ministerial Powers of Patronage: Ideology and Cabinet Selection under Margaret Thatcher 1979-1990

University of Leeds

Co-author

Dr Stuart McAnulla

The Rhetoric of Alex Salmond and the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

University of Leeds

Co-author