Politics on the Edge

This is a gloomy book. It’s the third book I’ve read this year about how & why UK politics is broken, and it’s the gloomiest of the three. Dunt’s “How Westminster Works … And Why It Doesn’t” made many of the same points that Stewart makes in this book, but ended with a list of relatively small pragmatic suggestions for how it could all be fixed (many of which Dunt points out have been tried before and shown to work, just subsequently dismantled). Campbell’s “But What Can I Do?” is a call to arms – yes, it’s broken, but we can all play a part in fixing it. But Stewart’s book is the story of a man who believed … first in the institutions of government, and then in his capacity to bring change … but who had that belief shattered by the reality he encountered.

It’s also the story of a man who has quite incredible privilege. Which only makes it feel the more gloomy – if a man who can (almost as an aside) say how the then Prince of Wales had been a valuable mentor when he (Stewart) was setting up his Afghanistan charity, or who can just casually get a meeting with the leader of the Conservative Party to talk about running for Parliament, if he can’t make anything happen how can anyone else? Of course part of the problem seems to be that he’s not a natural politician and although he slowly learns on the job he’s still always painfully earnest and somehow a little naive.

And clearly it’s a story of burnout, by the end it’s clear that Stewart feels he wasted a decade of his life constantly thinking if he just made it to the next level (be an MP, be a junior minister, be a member of the Cabinet, whatever) then he’d begin to get something done. Probably if he’d managed to be Prime Minister that too would’ve turned out to be more circumscribed or badly incentivised than he’d hoped. In the final chapter he sounds defeated and like he wishes he’d got out early or never started, and done something more useful.

I did enjoy reading it, even tho it’s gloomy. And anyway, not every book has to set out to provide solutions. Stewart writes well, with a sense of humour at all times, and describes both people and situations in a way that brings them to vivid life. Particularly the little descriptions of people one recognises as public figures, where he mostly confirms they are just as bad behind the scenes as one had imagined. And even tho my politics are not the same as his, he definitely comes across as someone who genuinely tried his best to do the right thing for his constituency & country in all his various roles, in his own slightly odd, earnest, naive & privileged way.

This is a slightly unusual political memoir, in that the author is neither trying to show off (or polish) their record (fairly limited in Stewart’s case, as he was bounced between departments without much time to make an impact) nor preparing for a comeback. There are no major revelations, and if you listen to The Rest is Politics you’ll probably have heard most of the anecdotes already. But it is an entertaining and, at times, depressing book about life as a frustrated backbencher and junior minister trying and (mostly) failing to make a big difference, whilst watching charlatans and less principled colleagues move ahead.

Another unusual aspect is that Stewart often declines to mention names, thus suggesting a veneer of discretion, but gives you enough hints that anyone with access to a search engine or Wikipedia could probably work out who he is referring to. This faux anonymity is a bit annoying, as it doesn’t seem to achieve anything, and anyone who Stewart despises gets named repeatedly (primarily Boris Johnson).

The final chapters go deep into frustrations - with Brexit, the leadership contest, and finally being thrown out of the party and effectively out of Parliament (UK politicians generally can’t win as independents, so being kicked out of a party means you lose your seat at the next election in nearly all cases). I would have liked to have heard more about the attempts to stop a no deal Brexit after the leadership election, and perhaps his mayoral campaign, and given that Stewart cut half the prepared material, there may be a chance for a second volume. No doubt it would sell well given the number of people who listen to TRIP, where the book is currently plugged at every opportunity.

Overall, this is worth reading given how different it is to most memoirs, but it is unfortunately, and understandably, less interesting than those whose political careers went a bit further.

(In case anyone is wondering how I’m reviewing this before the publication date, I went to a Q&A with Stewart and the ticket price included a copy of the book. As far as I’m aware it’s the same as what will go on general sale.)