BOOK OF THE YEAR, The Times, Guardian and Prospect Was Harold Wilson a bigger figure than Denis Healey? Was John Major more 'prime ministerial' than Michael Heseltine? Would David Miliband have become prime minister if it were not for his brother Ed? Would Ed have become prime minister if it were not for David? How close did Jeremy Corbyn come to being prime minister? In this piercing and original study, journalist and commentator Steve Richards looks at eleven prime ministers we never had, examining what made each of these illustrious figures unique and why they failed to make the final leap to the very top. Combining astute insights into the demands of leadership with compelling historical analysis, this fascinating exploration of failure and success sheds new light on some of the most compelling characters in British public life.
A landmark history of the men and women who have defined the UK's role in the modern world - and what makes them special - by a seasoned political journalist.
History resting on a hair's breadth ... a man dies rather than lives, an election is lost rather than won, one minister is appointed, another dismissed, a coalition is joined, or not. Enter a world of political counterfactuals, twenty-two examinations of things that never happened - but could have. In this book a collection of distinguished commentators, including journalists, academics, former MPs and special advisers, consider how things might have turned out differently throughout a century of political history - from Lloyd George and Keynes drowning at sea in 1916 right through to Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister in 2016. Scholarly analyses of possibilities and causalities take their place beside fictional accounts of alternate political histories - and all are guaranteed to entertain and make you think.
My Years as Prime Minister is Jean Chrétien’s own story, told with insight and humour, of his ten years at 24 Sussex Drive as Canada’s twentieth prime minister. By the time he left office, Jean Chrétien had been in politics for forty years – and his experience is evident on every page of his important, engaging memoir. Chrétien loves to tell a good tale – and he does so here in the same honest, plain-spoken style of Straight from the Heart, his earlier bestselling account of his years as a Cabinet minister. He gives us a self-portrait of a working prime minister – the passionate Canadian renowned for finishing every speech with Vive le Canada! Chrétien knows how government works, and his political instincts are sharp. Through the decade 1993 to 2003 we watch as he wins three majority elections as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. Finding the country in a dreadful state, dangerously in debt and bitterly divided, he describes how his government wiped out the deficit in just four years, helped to defeat the separatists in the cliffhanger Quebec referendum, passed the Clarity Act, and set out to fulfill the economic and social promises his party made in its famous Red Books. He reveals how and why he kept the country out of the war in Iraq – a defining moment for many Canadians; led Team Canada on whirlwind trade missions around the world; and participated in a host of major international summits. Along with his astute comments on politics and government, he gives candid portraits of a broad cast of characters. Over a beer, Tony Blair confides his hesitation about taking Britain into the Iraq War; in the corridors of the United Nations, Bill Clinton offers to speak to Quebecers on behalf of Canadian unity; while at home, Chrétien reveals the events leading up to the departure of his finance minister, Paul Martin. He recounts the dramatic night in which his quick-thinking wife, Aline, saved him from an assassination attempt at 24 Sussex Drive; and, with lively humour, he describes how he and Clinton successfully escaped from their own bodyguards – to the consternation of all. Even in the highest office in the land, Jean Chrétien never lost his connection with ordinary Canadians. He is as warm and funny in his recollections as in person, at once combative and cool-headed, a man full of vitality and charm. Above all, from start to finish, his love for his country and his passion to keep it united run clear and deep.
**Winner of the 2020 PARLIAMENTARY BOOK AWARDS for Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian** A Times Political Book of the Year 'An entertaining, thorough and informative canter through the characters and stories of prime ministers past.' - New Statesman 'A wealth of enjoyable insights into three centuries of Westminster politics... It is a most elegant hardback volume, with a gilded cover that looks a little like the famous front door of No. 10 itself; the ideal Christmas gift.' - Joyce McMillan, The Scotsman 'This is a timely study of UK Prime Ministers and Iain Dale has done the subject a great service with this measured and thoughtful labour of love which offers a fascinating set of insights into the history of Britain, politics, the role of Prime Minister, and elite and establishment power... a superb guide to the times we have lived through and are living in.' - Gerry Hassan, Scottish Review *** 'Many of my predecessors were giants, some had feet of clay, all possessed human foibles.' - From the foreword by Boris Johnson It has almost been 300 years since Sir Robert Walpole arguably became the first holder of the office of Prime Minister in 1721 - an office which today is under scrutiny like never before. The Prime Ministers, edited by leading political commentator Iain Dale, brings to life all 55 of Britain's 'First Among Equals' with an essay for each office holder, written by key figures in British politics. From the obscure 18th-century figures like the Earl of Shelburne to 20th-century titans like Churchill and Thatcher, this book provides a much-needed reminder about their motivations, failures and achievements.
Theresa May has presided over the most dramatic and historic peacetime premiership for a century. May at 10 tells the compelling inside story of the most turbulent period in modern British politics for 100 years. Written by one of Britain's leading political and social commentators, May at 10 describes how Theresa May arrived in 10 Downing Street in 2016 with the clearest, yet toughest, agenda of any Prime Minister since the Second World War: delivering Brexit. What follows defies belief or historical precedent. This story has never been told. Including a comprehensive series of interviews with May's closest aides and allies, and with unparalleled access to the advisers who shaped her premiership, Downing Street's official historian Anthony Seldon decodes the enigma of the Prime Minister's tenure. Drawing on all his authorial experience, he unpacks what is the most intriguing government and Prime Minister of the modern era.
"She woke with a start. Could it really have happened, or was it just a cruel dream? One way to find out. She reached for the remote control ... 'You're watching GB News, the fair and balanced way to start your day,' intoned the voice of Andrew Neil, overlaid on a remix of 'Land of Hope and Glory'. And then it hit her, as she took in the newsreader's first headline. 'The new Prime Minister, Priti Patel, is about to announce her first Cabinet appointments...' The new Prime Minister... So it was real." What does it take to change history? Clement Attlee dying on the battlefield, perhaps? John Lennon surviving that bullet, or Theresa May finally (finally!) passing her Brexit deal? Or maybe the pivotal recent years of UK history turned on one man's decision to have just one more drink... This is the world of political counterfactuals. Here, twenty-three fictional accounts, written by experts in their fields, tell the tales of what might have been – and what might still come to pass. Captivating and illuminating, these stories are guaranteed to make you smile – or gasp in horror...
Being Prime Minister sheds light on the lives of prime ministers as ordinary people, examining them through a variety of experiences most Canadians share.
"The Father I Never Had" is a story of how God's love slowly transformed a broken and dysfunctional young man into a whole and loving husband and dad. It is a raw, honest, and open look into the pain and redemption of Engle's spiritual and emotional journey with God.
