Research
Research interests
- The role, evolution, influence and significance of the Downing Street Chief-of-Staff (1997-present); and
- Leadership of directly-elected mayors
Current research
Max's research is focused on the environments that political leadership occurs within. This includes "environments" interpreted in an abstract sense. He is currently particularly interested in:
1. The role, evolution, influence and significance of the Downing Street Chief-of-Staff (1997-present); and
2. Leadership of directly-elected mayors.
Max takes comparative and biographical approaches to his research topics.
Forthcoming
1. Stafford, M. W. (2024). 'The UK Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff’s management of special advisers', in J. Lees-Marshment (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of Political Management. London: Routledge.
2. I currently have a journal article on the political management roles of the Downing Street Chief-of-Staff submitted for review with a leading journal.
3. I am currently writing up a comparative study of the leadership of the urban centre-left in England (London, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol) with Dr. Georgina Blakeley (Huddersfield) and Dr. Thom Oliver (UWE). This will be included in a forthcoming edited collection on the urban centre-left in Europe.
Journals
Sancino, A., M. W. Stafford, A. Braga and L. Budd (2021). What can city leaders do for climate change? Insights from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group network. Regional Studies. DOI: 10.1080/00343404.2021.2005244.
(Winner of Policy Paper of the Year, 2021, Regional Studies)
Worthy, B., Bennister, M. and M. W. Stafford (2019). Rebels Leading London? The Mayoralties of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson Compared. British Politics, 14(1), 23-43.
Stafford, M. W. (2014). Women’s political participation and their legislative representation. Alfred, 5(1), 50-57.
Books
I am currently in discussions with Bloomsbury, regarding the following books:
1. (2024) - Strong Mayors' Leadership Capital: New York, London, and Amsterdam (2000-2016)
2. A book on my current project regarding the role, influence and significance of the Downing Street Chief-of-Staff (1997-present)
Conferences
I have given c.20 conference papers on a range of topics related to my research interests (full listing on ORCID).
Book Reviews
I have published several book reviews for Party Politics and Political Studies Review (full listing on ORCID).