Abstract
The premierships of Gordon Brown, David Cameron, and Theresa May were each preoccupied with vulnerabilities of the neoliberal regime. These included severe economic problems (only one of which was the 2008 global financial crisis), substantially increased electoral volatility, shifting social attitudes on a range of issues, and, overlaying these, Brexit and the rise of Corbynism. Brown (2007–2010) proved a capable crisis manager with his adroit handling of the 2008 global financial crisis, but was limited in his ability to repair the existing regime due to his strong affiliation with the New Labour project. Cameron (2010–2016) was more strategic, but also faced a broader array of more pressing regime vulnerabilities, most notably the rise of third parties such as the SNP and UKIP, the latter of which led to the fateful decision to hold the EU membership referendum. May (2016–2019) confronted a fairly unique situation after becoming leader in the wake of the EU membership referendum and struggled to devise a strategy for achieving a form of Brexit that would satisfy both the Leave and Remain tribes, which prevented her from proceeding with a meaningful domestic agenda.
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Byrne, C., Randall, N., Theakston, K. (2020). The Collapse of the Neoliberal Consensus 2008–2019: Brown, Cameron, May. In: Disjunctive Prime Ministerial Leadership in British Politics. Palgrave Studies in Political Leadership. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44911-7_4
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