Tony Blair's leadership style was early on encapsulated by his boast, when leader of the opposition, that he ‘led’ his party while John Major ‘followed’ his. That observation, intended as an attack on Major's premiership, was a clear portent of the way Blair would operate, within the party and in government. Labour backbenchers cheered Blair's attack to the echo, but many came later to rue his leading Labour from the front, centring the party on his personal appeal and challenging its traditions whenever he considered it necessary to do so. This approach, for good or ill, has become the template for the modern and successful party leader. If Blair modelled himself on the popular perception of Margaret Thatcher, then David Cameron, Conservative leader since 2005, has clearly modelled his leadership style on Tony Blair. Cameron has endlessly emphasised his tough, uncompromising leadership, criticising Conservatism for being out of touch (‘old'Conservatism) and his claim, ‘I lead. I don't follow my party; I lead them', was taken straight from the Blair playbook.

A 2007 report by the Labour Commission, an unofficial group of ‘broadly representative’ party members, criticised Labour for being a ‘command party’ where ‘the leadership appoints ministers, controls parliament, manages the party and consults members’.