Politics on the Edge

The Instant #1 Sunday Times Bestseller from the Host of Hit Podcast the Rest Is Politics

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Rory Stewart: Politics on the Edge (2023, Penguin Random House)

English language

Published Jan. 16, 2023 by Penguin Random House.

ISBN:
978-1-78733-514-1
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4 stars (3 reviews)

2 editions

Gloomy but entertaining & well written memoir about the state of UK politics from the inside

4 stars

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 …

Intresting recount of Rory's experience as an MP and minister

4 stars

You don't have to have any particuar politic leaning to find this recount of Rory's time as an MP intresting.

He describes a deeply disfunction system which has not moved with the times.

Given that this is memoir this might be an unfair criticism, but my only complaint is that its a little longer than it needs to convey the messages it wants to convey.

Unusual memoir from a frustrated former MP

3 stars

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 …