Politics On The Edge

By (author) Stewart Rory
Description:

The searing inside story of our broken politics from the former Cabinet minister and co-host of The Rest Is Politics.

‘The most exceptional political memoir I’ve ever read’
ALAN JOHNSON

‘An instant classic’
MARINA HYDE

‘At last a politician who can write’
SEBASTIAN FAULKS

Over the course of a decade, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.

Uncompromising, honest and darkly humorous, this is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life. Instantly praised as a new classic, it is an astonishing portrait of our turbulent times.

‘Genuinely eye-opening…always riveting, often horrifying’
iNEWS

‘Beautifully written’
GUARDIAN

‘Hugely entertaining’
EVENING STANDARD

BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

* A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE FT, GUARDIAN, SUNDAY TIMES, TELEGRAPH, TIMES, OBSERVER, i NEWSPAPER, NEW STATESMAN, PROSPECT, CHURCH TIMES AND SCOTSMAN *

Politics on the Edge was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller from 09.09.23–16.09.23, 09.12.23–16.12.23, 30.12.23–06.01.24 and 11.06.24—25.06.24.

Review quote:
There’s no denying that Rory Stewart stands almost alone among British politicians: he’s one of a handful who can actually turn a phrase. That talent is put to good use here — no other account of how Cameron Toryism curdled into May and Johnson is likely to be as evocative or amusing as this one
Review quote:
If you want to better understand the catastrophe that has been our government since 2010, or you just want to bask in Stewart’s beautifully formulated prose, read this book
Review quote:
A brilliant insider’s account of the Cameron-May-Johnson years
Review quote:
It is the sheer sharpness, originality and truth-telling grace of Stewart’s prose, along with the vital importance of his subject, that makes his new book a truly exceptional political autobiography, both a pleasure to read, and a vital wake-up call
Review quote:
Full of sharp observations and often funny… a portrait of a country where power is wielded by empty careerists, working in a broken system
Review quote:
Beautifully written... You glimpse how transformative government could be
Review quote:
A fascinating account of power, corruption and lies
Review quote:
Stewart writes beautifully and is brilliant at describing both the theatre and insanity of life in politics
Review quote:
[Stewart’s] memoir of his time in politics is valuable as a slice of entertainment, as an enjoyably catty takedown of his former colleagues, and as perhaps the most helpful recent account of the failings of the British state… a valuable contribution to the historical record
Review quote:
The moral and technical seriousness of this book should not be ignored: in his time in parliamentary politics, Stewart discovered a lot that needs mending—and he has plenty of ideas for doing so
Biographical note:

Rory Stewart served in the UK Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development, and before that as Prisons Minister, Minister for Africa, Minister for Development, Environment Minister and Chair of the Defence Committee. He ran against Boris Johnson for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2019. Earlier in his career he was briefly in the British Army