Kevin Theakston

Kevin Theakston is Professor of British Government at the University of Leeds.

He is a specialist in British government and politics and has a long-standing interest in Whitehall, the civil service and government ministers.

His most recent books were on the lives and careers of former prime ministers from the 18th century to the present (After Number 10: Former Prime Ministers in British Politics); a co-edited study of the decline and fall of Labour Governments (How Labour Governments Fall); a co-edited study of former leaders around the world (Former Leaders in Modern Democracies); and a book about the life and career of William Armstrong, the leading British civil servant of the 1960s and early 1970s (William Armstrong and British Policy Making).

He is also interested in constitutional issues and constitutional reform and is working on projects including the political leadership of Edward Heath and on a book about British prime ministers.