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  • The Fall of Boris Johnson

  • The Full Story
  • By: Sebastian Payne
  • Narrated by: Sebastian Payne
  • Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (130 ratings)

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The Fall of Boris Johnson

By: Sebastian Payne
Narrated by: Sebastian Payne
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Summary

The Fall of Boris Johnson is the explosive inside account of how a prime minister lost his hold on power. Written and read by Sebastian Payne, Director of Onward and former Whitehall Editor for the Financial Times.

Winner at the 2022 Parliamentary Book Awards

A New Statesman, The Times, Daily Mail and FT Book of the Year

Boris Johnson was touted as the saviour of the country and the Conservative Party, obtaining a huge commons majority and finally 'getting Brexit done'. But, within three short years, he was deposed in disgrace and left the country in crisis.

Sebastian Payne tells the essential behind-the-scenes story, charting the series of scandals that felled Johnson: from the blocked suspension of Owen Paterson, through partygate and the final death blow: the Chris Pincher allegations. This is the full narrative of the betrayals, rivalries and resignations that resulted in the dramatic Conservative coup – and set in motion those events that saw the party sink to catastrophic new lows.

With unparalleled access to those who were in the room when key decisions were made, Payne tells of the miscalculations and mistakes that led to Boris Johnson’s downfall. This is a gripping and timely look at how power is gained, wielded and lost in Britain today.

©2022 Sebastian Payne (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
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Critic reviews

"Delicious detail, break-neck pace." (Emily Maitlis)

"Entertaining and illuminating." (Tim Shipman)

"Brilliant." (Fraser Nelson)

What listeners say about The Fall of Boris Johnson

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting listen to Boris’s downfall

The author read his book well and kept me engaged in the monologue. Always interesting to hear what happens behind closed doors

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Superb at filling in the gaps

I'm a longtime Guardian reader, so to say I'm familiar with the backstory to this book is an understatement. What it does superbly, is to fill in the gaps and add context to decisions made and thoughts of those inside the No 10 operation at the time. I don't need to know names, and I don't think it's any detriment that the author extensively uses "a source" or "a senior No 10 insider" instead.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Good but not much new

I enjoyed this book, it’s an entertaining listen and seemed to fly by quickly. But it felt like a lot of it I already knew via following the news etc, there didn’t seem much extra inside story type stuff. Seb was a decent reader once you get used to his way of speaking and sounds quite chatty and informal.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Slightly Rose Tinted

An interesting and detailed account of the demise of an individual wholly unsuited for public office which gave more credit to Johnson than was due, particularly with regard to the botched Brexit he cobbled together. The inclusion of so many expletives only served to confirm my dim view of Johnson’s acolytes and the bunch of second rate riders on the cabinet merry go round before and after his departure.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

an interesting title let down by the narration

Quite an interesting overview of the forces behind Johnson's resignation. Offers quite a sympathetic view of the PM but is not partisan. However, it is a pity the author did not let a more competent narrator read it. The author's inability to pronounce R is jarring. No offence but why he thought he was the right narrator for a book about "Boris", "Tory" and "Prime Minister" is beyond me...

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good account very boringly delivered

Why does an author assume he can do as good a job a professional narrator. The author here could be reading a laundry list

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great narrative weak narration

Not sure the author was the best narrator voice wise and he was definitely not an impartial observer

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Five stars

Sebastian’s podcast is always an interesting ,insightful and sometimes funny look behind the scenes of Westminster,this was more of the same.
Really enjoyed learning the truth behind the headlines. Great book and find Sebastian’s voice familiar and reassuring while hearing about the depressing mess our ex PM got himself and others into.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Not much new

Whilst interesting and worth reading, there was little new or revealing and disappointing given the access to “those on the inside”. The final conclusions lacked insight and disappointing.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A sympathetic but compelling portrayal of recent history

Whilst the portrayal is much more sympathetic to Boris than I would have liked, there is no disputing that this is a compelling listen well narrated!

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