Keith Laybourn is professor of history at the University of Huddersfield in Yorkshire, England.

This A-Z biographical dictionary profiles Britain's prime ministers, foreign secretaries, home secretaries, and Chancellors of the Exchequer, from 1730 through the present-all in clear, concise language.
These leaders guided the nation through the loss of empire, through two devastating world wars, and into a new role as members of the European Union. In clear, accessible language, this new dictionary shows how in the 18th century, and to a lesser extent in the 19th century, many of Britain's top leaders were linked more closely by family and factional interests than by party. It also illustrates-and helps to explain-the rise of the Labour Party and the emergence of "New Labour."