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So You Want to Be a Politician
by Shane GreerSo You Want to be a Politician is a must read for any first time candidate or anyone looking to put together and run an effective campaign at any level of public life. This accessible, practical guide offers common sense advice for almost any scenario. Featuring contributions and advice from some of the leading names in contemporary British campaigning, So You Want to be a Politician is an essential resource that some of today's serving politicians could make good use of.
Campaign 2010: The Making of the Prime Minister
by Nicholas JonesIn the run-up to the general election of May 2010 it was universally acknowledged that whatever the outcome, this vote would start a fresh chapter in British political history. But no one anticipated just how fresh that chapter would be - Twists and turns made it an election like no other. David Cameron launched the Tories' poster campaign with an unblemished photograph of himself - and it became the most parodied image of the election. Nick Clegg went into the fi rst of the leaders' television debates derided as 'The Other One' - and emerged as a major player, with 'I agree with Nick' the campaign's unlikely catchphrase. Mrs Gillian Duffy went out to buy a loaf of bread in Rochdale - and happened to encounter Gordon Brown, with disastrous consequences for the Labour cause. But none of the soap opera of the weeks leading up to 6 May could match the drama of the days following the election's inconclusive result: the positioning, the posturing, the negotiating and the bargaining which eventually saw David Cameron moving into 10 Downing Street in a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. A fresh chapter in political history - and a fresh level of political theatre incisively described by Nicholas Jones.
Talking to a Brick Wall: How New Labour Stopped Listening to the Voter and Why We Need a New Politics
by Deborah MattinsonWith a foreword by Michael Portillo. Deborah Mattinson had a unique perspective on the New Labour project. As Britain's leading political pollster, she has been monitoring public opinion since the mid-1980s, and helped transform Labour into Europe's greatest election-winning machine of the modern era. Most recently as chief pollster to Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, she has been on the frontline of electoral politics, consistently representing the voter's side of the story to the politicans. Sometimes, she has encountered scepticism - a belligerent John Smith made an unappreciative witness to one of Deborah's focus groups - and she has often had to convey unwelcome results - telling a grumpy Gordon Brown he needed to spruce up his appearance cannot have been easy. With a stellar cast, including Neil Kinnock, Peter Mandelson, John Smith, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Talking to A Brick Wall reviews the New Labour years from the voter's point of view. It tracks the ups and downs of the Blair/Brown era as seen from beyond Westminster, showing how closely political reputation correlates with voter connection. It profiles the swing voter, shows the importance of women's votes, and what gives a politician popular appeal, and maps the voters' views through the 2010 campaign and its immediate aftermath, showing how the electorate has been left out of political decision making and revealing the public's recipe for rehabilitating the Labour Party and rebuilding trust in democracy. A champion of democratic renewal through citizen engagement, Deborah Mattinson believes that we must move to new grown up partnership politics if democracy is to thrive.
What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do For Us? (Routledge Revivals Ser.)
by Francis BeckettThe first of those born in the baby boom following the Second World War came of age in the radical sixties. Not since 1918 had the young talked serious revolutionary politics as they did then. But in 1918, the men who came back from the war knew that the world was amiss, and what they had to do about it. When at last the generation that fought the Great War came to power, they changed the world. By contrast, the generation that came after decayed fast. For the first time since the Second World War, there was money, there was safe sex, there was freedom, and no one bothered to stop and remember the price earlier generations had paid for this. Most of them hardly realised the privations of their parents, and the struggle that had taken place to ensure that they were not equally deprived. What began as the most radical-sounding generation for half a century turned into a random collection of youthful style gurus, sharp-toothed entrepreneurs and management consultants who believed revolution meant new ways of selling things; and Thatcherites, who thought freedom meant free markets, not free people. At last it found its most complete expression in New Labour, which had no idea what either revolution or freedom meant, but rather liked the sound of the words. While the philosophy of the sixties seemed progressive at the time, the baby boomers we remember are not the political reformers, but the millionaires. In What Did the Baby Boomers Ever Do for Us? Francis Beckett argues that the children of the '60s betrayed the generations that came before and after, and that the true legacy of the swinging decade is ashes.
Making the Difference: Essays in Honour of Shirley Williams
by Andrew DuffTo mark the occasion of Baroness Williams' eightieth birthday in July 2010, Biteback is proud to publish a collection of essays by her peers, contemporaries and proteges on the themes and issues she has campaigned on during the course of an inspirational career in politics spanning five decades. Contributors include Rosie Boycott, Vince Cable, Menzies Campbell, Germaine Greer, Jeremy Greenstock, Polly Toynbee, Roy Hattersley, Edna Healey, David Owen, Bill Rodgers, Peter Mandelson, David Steel, John Major, Chris Patten, Tony King, Helena Kennedy, Charles Kennedy, Peter Hennessy, Richard Harries, Roger Liddle, Robert Reich and Crispin Tickell.
Labour's Revival: The Modernisers' Manifesto
by Paul RichardsLabour's Revival offers the Labour Party a path to power following a general election when its coalition of support will likely have been fractured and their traditional voters will have deserted them in their tens of thousands. The author analyses Labour's strategic errors and the debilitating bumps in the road - the 10p tax rate row, the disastrous battle over 42-day detention, the plots against Gordon Brown's leadership, poor local and European election results and perceived policy U-turns. Paul Richards outlines the task ahead for Labour. By calling on Labour to adopt a new agenda on public service reform, local ownership and control, a green economy and a renewed democracy, Labour's Revival offers a practical path for modernisers to follow in the tough months ahead. As Labour searches its soul, and debates its future, Labour's Revival provides a wake-up call for anyone who wants to see Labour come back as a serious party of government.
Why Join a Trade Union?
by Jo PhillipsThe Labour Party was built on them; Margaret Thatcher set out to destroy them. Trades unions, who needs them? The answer is quite simply, anyone who goes to work and who cares about pay & conditions, equal rights, safety and training (or so the trades unions themselves would tell you). Others may call them wreckers and bullies, who just want a fight with the bosses. In a world of portfolio jobs and economic austerity, will people need unions even more for protection or have they had their day along with sheepskin coats and picket lines?
Which Way's Up?: The Big Challenges Facing Britain and How to Confront Them
by Nicholas BolesNicholas Boles, newly elected MP for Grantham and Stamford, is the founder and former director of the influential right-of-centre think tank, Policy Exchange. More importantly, this close friend of David Cameron and leading Conservative moderniser drew up the Tories' plans for government, making him more powerful than most members of the former Shadow Cabinet. In Which Way's Up, this leading political thinker looks at how David Cameron, at the head of a modern, coalition government, can transform Britain. This book is a wide-ranging examination of the problems (and solutions) facing Britain, from one of the new government's preeminent movers and shakers. It will also be a unique chronicle of the first six months of this historic new government.
Flying Free
by Nigel FarageIn an age of colourless bureaucrats, Nigel Farage is a politician who is impossible to ignore, provoking controversy and admiration in equal measure. A fun-loving iconoclast whose motto is work hard and play harderA", Farage's charismatic leadership and determination to battle the forces of anti-libertarianism have made him a Robin Hood figure to many, and propelled his party, UKIP, into a position of real power in the country. Never one for a quiet life, this paperback edition includes the story of Nigel's extraordinary escape from death in a plane crash on the eve of the 2010 general election (the light aircraft he was flying in got caught up in a UKIP banner it was towing and crashed shortly after take-off, badly injuring Farage and his pilot), his recovery and return to the leadership of UKIP in November 2010. Featuring sometimes hilarious and often terrifying encounters with a stellar supporting cast, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy, Jose Manuel Barroso, and UKIP's short-lived, silver-gilt masco, Robert Kilroy-Silk - and told with Farage's customary wit and humour, Fighting Bull is a candid, colourful life story by a fascinating and controversial character. It also shows that one fearless, determined individual can still make a difference.
Dirty Politics, Dirty Times: My Fight With Wapping And New Labour
by Michael AshcroftThis is a newly revised and updated paperback edition of the former Conservative Party Treasurer's personal account of his battle over unsubstantiated claims concerning his business affairs which culminated in a libel action against "The Times" newspaper. The book reveals the dirty tricks that were used to destabilise the Conservative Party, including the newspaper's alleged bribery of US government officials, and the abuse of parliamentary privileges by New Labour MPs. This is Lord Ashcroft's compelling account of the attacks on his reputation by New Labour spin-doctors out to slander the Conservative Party and journalists seeking to create a story. This new edition also sheds new light on Michael Ashcroft's private life; his childhood and love of Belize, his business career and his many and varied interests.
Outside In
by Peter HainPeter Hain has always spoken his mind. So he does in this book. Here he tells his story as an outsider turned insider: anti-apartheid militant to Cabinet minister, serving twelve years in Labour's government between May 1997 and May 2010. Growing up as the son of courageous anti-apartheid South Africans, Peter Hain was first in the public eye aged fifteen, reading at the funeral of an anti-apartheid friend hanged in Pretoria. Living in exile in Britain during his late teens, he led campaigns to disrupt whites-only South African sports tours. His political notoriety resulted in two extraordinary Old Bailey trials and a letter bomb. Hain recalls his role in negotiating the historic 2007 settlement in Northern Ireland, being Britain's first-ever African born Africa Minister, and acting as a passionate advocate and deliverer of devolved government to Wales. Featuring Iraq, Mugabe, Europe, Gibraltar, blood diamonds, work alongside MI5 and MI6, and the delivery of justice for workers robbed of their pensions and compensation for sick miners, Hain's autobiography gives a fascinating insight into life near the top of the Blair and Brown governments.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Why Britain's Prisons Are Failing
by John PodmoreAt the heart of his book is his conclusion that prison simply does not work, failing on three fundamental levels. The view of the popular media is that when prisoners are locked up they cannot commit crime. This is not true. Podmore shows how crime actually proliferates in prison, how serious organised crime is allowed to flourish there through bad management, and how the UK's prisons are a multi-million pound investment bank for the black economy. The public sees prison as a deterrent. This book shows that whilst it may deter the white, middle classes, for the majority of those behind bars it is merely a social tax, or as Norman Stanley Fletcher was told in Porridge, 'an occupational hazard'. It shows that for many across the spectrum of social exclusion it is a place of safety and preferable to life on the streets. Also, whatever spin is put on the figures it is clear that the majority of those leaving prison will quickly reoffend. OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND is a remarkable book that seeks to ignite a debate across society about a vital subject we ignore at our peril.
How to be an MP: Learning The Commons Knowledge
by Paul FlynnBest summer reads 2015 John Crace, GuardianNot for everyone the title of Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary or other such hallowed callings; the vast majority of the House of Commons is made up of backbenchers – the power behind the constitutionally elected throne.Here is a guide for anyone and everyone fascinated by the quirks and foibles of Westminster Palace, covering all species of backbencher and providing every hardworking MP and political enthusiast with the know-how to survive life in Parliament.From how to address the crowd, weather marital troubles and socialise at party conference to the all important Backbenchers’ Commandments, How to Be an MP is indispensable reading for anyone wishing to make a mark from the back bench and influence proceedings in the House. And in the process it provides the outsider with a riveting insight into life as a Member.- An unique guide to being a Member of Parliament.- Essential reading for MPs and a fascinating account of life and work in the world’s oldest Parliament.- Has sold 5,000 units since first publication in 2012.- Foreword by Speaker John Bercow.
The Palin Effect: Money, Sex and Class in the New American Politics
by Shana PearlmanA US presidential election is, quite simply, the greatest show on Earth. In the battle to occupy the most important seat in the world, in which power can be bought and sold, forces on either side hoodwink the public and claim their political victims. Witness the age of the Palin Effect. An extraordinary exposé of the political depravities and media proliferated inequalities of the entire electoral process, The Palin Effect sheds light on an ugly phase of American politics hell bent on slander and spurious belittling. Revealing an increasingly greedy war based on class, sex and money, former Fox News and BBC journalist Shana Pearlman looks at what motivates the protagonists in the electoral circus - the media, the people, the money, the candidates themselves - and wonders how free this star-spangled land really is.
Doing Politics
by Tony WrightA dose of sense from the voice of parliamentary reason.Throughout the expenses scandal and the lobbying scandal and all the other storms which have buffeted Parliament, Dr Tony Wright is the one MP who has consistently provided a measured, sane and sensible reaction to events. As Chair of the influential Public Administration Committee he has risen above party and partisan politics to offer a sometimes lone voice of reason. His new book considers the wider implications of the various political ructions and the public reaction to them, and argues that if we want to defend politics, then we also have to defend politicians: the class of people is intrinsic to the activity. Somebody has to do the messy business of accommodating conflicting demands and interests, choosing between competing options, negotiating unwelcome trade-offs, and taking responsibility for decisions that often represent the least worst course of action. That somebody is politicians. They give voice to our hopes, but they also, inevitably, feed our disappointments, even if their name is Obama. From one of our most erudite, intellectually rigorous yet sensible politicians, Doing Politics is just the book the nation needs.
Watermelons: How Environmentalists are Killing the Planet, Destroying the Economy and Stealing Your Children's Future
by James DelingpoleIf global warming isn't real then how come the ice caps are melting? Why would all the world's top scientists lie to us? What exactly is so wrong with biofuels, wind farms, carbon taxes, sustainability and preserving scarce resources for future generations? And what about Bangladesh, the drowning Maldives and all those endangered polar bears? James Delingpole has all the answers - and they're not the ones Al Gore would like you to hear. In Watermelons, Delingpole tells the shocking true story of how a handful of political activists, green campaigners and voodoo scientists engineered the world's biggest, most expensive and destructive outbreak of mass hysteria - one that threatens the very fabric of Western Civilisation.
Think Tank: The Story of the Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen PirieIn the 1970s, as the country's post-war love affair with socialism began to sour, a new type of think tank opened its doors in Britain. Spearheading a rejection of state planning and controls, the Adam Smith Institute helped to put incentives and enterprise firmly back into the political mainstream. Its influence was extraordinary, even revolutionary. Britain's new passwords became opportunity, aspiration and the free market. With no backing and no resources save their own conviction, a handful of motivated individuals managed to play a role in transforming the prospects of a nation. This is their story.
Surrender: How British industry gave up the ghost 1952-2012
by Nicholas ComfortBritish industry at the start of the New Elizabethan Age was a world leader. The first - British - jet airliner was taking to the skies, the first nuclear power station was under construction at Calder Hall and British firms were pioneering the computer. Our shipyards reigned almost supreme, and from Britain's factories came cars, lorries, buses, heavy machinery, aircraft and locomotives, exported all over the world. Sixty years on, many of these industries and millions of jobs have disappeared, while competitors have flourished. Much of what remains is under foreign ownership. Britain has lost many export markets, and essential goods have to be imported. How did all this happen? Britain's loss of competitiveness has traditionally been blamed on outdated working practices, failure to invest and modernise, poor management, bloody-minded unions, the loss of Empire and the ability of post-war Germany and Japan to rebuild from scratch. All this is true, but the picture is far more complex. The role of Whitehall and successive governments, Britain's relationship with Europe, corporate greed, misjudgement and even suicide, and sheer bad luck all play a part. In Surrender, Nicholas Comfort revisits the past six decades and identifies some of the factors behind the greatest mass extinction since the dinosaurs.
Lost Causes: The Retreat from Classical Liberalism
by Deepak LalSociety is cracking. Lurching from economic disaster to social decay, our modern-day life is plagued by sickness. Deepak Lal, world-renowned economist, tackles the hidden roots of our problems in his visionary book Lost Causes. Providing a completely new framework for socio-economic understanding, Lal challenges received wisdom with a sure voice and shows how those in power have forgotten to take care of some of the fundamentals of everyday life. From a faltering NHS to the war on drugs, Lal reveals to the world the lost causes in its current malaise.
Under Every Leaf: How Britain Played the Greater Game from Afghanistan to Africa
by William BeaverDelving into an encyclopaedic array of little-known primary sources, William Beaver uncovers a vigorous intelligence function at the heart of Victoria’s Empire. A cadre of exceptionally able and dedicated officers, they formed the War Office Intelligence Division, which gave Britain’s foreign policy its backbone in the heyday of imperial acquisition.Under Every Leaf is the first major study to examine the seminal role of intelligence gathering and analysis in ‘England’s era’. So well did Great Britain play her hand, it seemed to all the world that, as the Farsi expression goes, ‘Anywhere a leaf moves, underneath you will find an Englishman.’The historian William Beaver is also a soldier, corporate communicator, arts editor and Anglican priest.
The Words of Our Time: Speeches that Make a Difference 2001-2011
by John ShoskyThis is a collection of the most influential speeches given since entering the new millennium. It is a timely book, capturing contemporary and powerful expressions of ideas and reasoning. Global in perspective, these speeches stand as unmediated and authentic testaments to the profound impact of great words and persuasive vision. During this period our mindset and culture have changed, reflecting the immense national and international changes the age has witnessed: the global financial crisis, the outbreak of international terrorism, the rise of new wealth in the developing world, austerity in Europe and the United States, and new opportunities for investment and influence. These speeches define our recent history and will be used by historians to understand us in the years and centuries to come.
Her Majesty: 60 Regal Years: Diamond Jubilee Edition
by Brian HoeyQueen Elizabeth II is the most famous woman in the world - but she is also the most private. Now, to mark her sixtieth year on the throne, royal expert Brian Hoey takes a searching look at Her Majesty's long reign, at her likes and dislikes, her triumphs and disappointments, and at what drives this most extraordinary of individuals. Using unrivalled access to those closest to the royal family, Hoey uncovers the principles and convictions, quirks and foibles that define The Queen and her family. Affectionate anecdote is combined with impartial analysis to provide an enthralling glimpse into the life of a woman who has earned both global respect and the admiration of her subjects. The last ten years of Queen Elizabeth II's reign have been no less eventful than any other decade: two wars, recession and royal marriage have all made their mark as The Queen prepares to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee. Yet, as this lively, authoritative and revealing account makes clear, Her Majesty continues to display a resolute determination to steer her country on the right course - to protect her people, the Commonwealth and, perhaps above all, the institution of monarchy.
Whatever Next?: Reminiscences of a Journey Through Life
by Earl FerrersIn this charming and poignant memoir, the 13th Earl Ferrers - 'a farmer who got caught up in the slipstream of politics' - reflects on a life very well lived. Alongside contemplative musings on politics, religion, relationships and the meaning of life are humorous anecdotes - on his aristocratic upbringing at Staunton Harold in the 1930s, high jinks at Winchester and Cambridge, national service in the jungle of Malaya and his time as minister in every Conservative Government from Macmillan to Major. Drawing on nearly sixty years of public service, Whatever Next? recounts captivating tales of the ups and downs of Westminster life - including choice nuggets of original correspondence, cartoons and poems - from a peer with a real twinkle in his eye.
Degrees of Separation: Ethnic Minority Voters and the Conservative Party
by Michael AshcroftAt the 2010 general election, only 16 per cent of ethnic minority voters supported the Conservatives. In Degrees of Separation Lord Ashcroft explores the gulf between ethnic and religious minorities and the Tories that is a well-known but little understood feature of British politics. Based on a unique 10,000-sample poll and extensive research among voters from black African, black Caribbean, Hindu, Muslim and Sikh backgrounds, Degrees of Separation sheds new light on one of the Conservative Party's biggest and most longstanding challenges.
Red Dusk and the Morrow: Adventures and Investigations in Soviet Russia
by Paul DukesPaul Dukes was sent into Russia in 1918, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution, by 'C' (the mysterious head of the British secret service). His mission: to pull together the British spy networks operating against the new regime. With its spies and diplomats thrown out at the start of the Red Terror, Britain's espionage efforts were left to a British businessman with no previous experience as a spy. Dukes operated under a variety of covers, the most daring of which was as a member of the Cheka secret police. On his return, the government publicised his account of Bolshevik terror to justify a joint US-UK military attack on northern Russia. Dukes became the only British secret agent to be knighted for spying and was awarded the Victoria Cross. This thrilling account of his mission, first published in 1922, remains a true classic of espionage.