UK political figures lack leadership qualities - study

While Virgin boss Richard Branson has topped a poll for apparently possessing the most impressive leadership qualities, the heads of the UK’s three main political parties all languished at the bottom.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown came last with a score of 4.5, followed by Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, at 5.2. David Cameron, head of the Conservative party, was positioned fourth from bottom with a rating of 5.66, scoring only marginally higher than French president, Nicolas Sarkozy at 5.44.

These are the findings of a survey called ‘Politics: leadership matters’ undertaken among 2,000 business leaders by management body, the Institute of Leadership and Management.

Respondents were asked to assess nine leaders from across the worlds of business and politics on the five fundamental aspects of leadership – ability, personal integrity, vision, communication and engagement - and an overall leadership score was generated based on the results.