In this era of totally leader-focused election campaigning, and presidential prime ministers, it is not surprising that political biographers tend to focus almost exclusively just on those who make it to the very top. But, while it might not be a truth universally acknowledged, the reality is that whether parties actually win office, and the extent to which governments achieve anything memorably worthwhile if they do, often depends at least as much on those who never make it quite so far up the greasy pole.