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Politics on the Edge

A Memoir from Within

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Politics on the Edge

By: Rory Stewart
Narrated by: Rory Stewart
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

#1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

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

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

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.

BRITISH BOOK AWARDS NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

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

‘At last a politician who can write’ SEBASTIAN FAULKS

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

©2023 Rory Stewart (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Elections & Political Process Europe Great Britain Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Liberalism Inspiring Thought-Provoking Witty Memoir Socialism

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Critic reviews

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
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
A brilliant insider’s account of the Cameron-May-Johnson years
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
Full of sharp observations and often funny… a portrait of a country where power is wielded by empty careerists, working in a broken system
Beautifully written... You glimpse how transformative government could be (Gaby Hinsliff)
A fascinating account of power, corruption and lies
Stewart writes beautifully and is brilliant at describing both the theatre and insanity of life in politics
[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
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
All stars
Most relevant
I am one of those who believes that Rory Stewart is the best PM that we never had, however, this book did dent that opinion somewhat. He is clearly a gifted observer of human nature and his experiences in Afghanistan and elsewhere have given him a fantastic insight into other cultures, which the Conservative government were mad to ignore. However, and it pains me to say this, he does seem to lack a certain humility, and I suspect that his lack of success may be down to his poor interpersonal skills. It becomes tiresome to hear time and time again how he was right and everyone else was wrong. And, a minor criticism, his attempts at impersonation of various people and dialects gets very tiresome after a short while. Nevertheless, I found this a fascinating review of the declining years of the Conservative government.

Fascinating Insights into the Political Process

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First let me say this book is very entertaining and I'd recommend it regardless of your political views. It is fast paced and keeps the reader satiated with mini-stories of Rory's time at various ministerial departments and as a backbench MP.

However it also gives a slightly disturbing view of Rory's mind. He reminds us many times throughout this book that he speaks several languages, and I'm sure he'll understand this reference this reference to Montherlant: Malheur a la ville dont le prince est un enfant.

From explaining how he considered suicide after a negative article in a local newspaper, to describing being on the verge of punching colleagues on several occasions because they made a remark that 'triggered' him, Rory offers a disturbing account of someone with what sounds like undiagnosed mental health issues.
He seems to be afflicted with a form of child prodigy syndrome developed during his time in Afghanistan. There he was able to make a huge difference to people's lives, simply because needs were enormous and any contribution could have life-changing impact. However it seems this has lead Rory to assume that he is somehow exceptionally good at helping people and fixing things.
Yet despite spending half the book criticising virtually every politician, every organisation, and every civil servant he comes in contact with, Rory doesn't really tell us what he would do instead. And when he is given the chance to make a difference he is suddenly a lot more consensual. His legacy at Defra is that he introduced the plastic bag charge, which he admits himself is an idea that had been floated many times before and was introduced in other European countries at around the same time.

His one achievement was as prison minister, but he didn't need to try very hard as the department was extremely dysfunctional and ideological, and the solutions were obvious. He simply backed prison governors who wanted to go back to basics and increase searches and fix broken windows. Of course this worked, but we can still thank for Rory for this injection of simple common sense in the prison system.

The book is also full of contradictions, like when Rory describes the many times he was infuriated listening to someone expressing their opinion on Afghanistan without having spent many months there. Rory is very keen to play gatekeeper with this subject, and this is a position that is defendable. However at the same time he is lecturing ministers and experts about broadband deployment in his constituency while having no understanding of the subject himself. He spends many pages telling us that all these people are wrong, and that he - having studied the subject for a few weeks - is right. 'How infuriating that these people don't see that I am right', he'll repeat over and over again without ever considering that he may be missing something.

Rory is also often unfair to his colleagues. In recollections of his conversations with various ministers, he will paraphrase and simplify their positions to the extreme, making it sound like he is the common sense voice while the other party displays a worrying lack of understanding of the subject in question.
A good example of it is when Rory recalls a conversation he had with Boris Johnson about Brexit during the 2019 leadership election. Boris tells Rory that he accepts the possibility of having a period of WTO tariffs before reaching a trade deal with the EU, which Boris describes as a transition period. Of course one can disagree with this and highlight the huge issues of WTO trade, and Rory does this, but first he picks up on Boris' use of the word transition and assumes he is ignorant and doesn't understand what he is saying. Rory spends a whole page scolding Boris like a schoolteacher enlightening him by explaining that WTO isn't a transition, it is instead the default tariff regime.
It's pretty obvious even from Rory's own account that Boris understood that very well. He was saying 'transition' to describe the period between Brexit and a trade deal that he hopes can be concluded soon. But Rory assumes that everyone else is just a bit slow and uninformed, and jumped on this opportunity to lecture his colleague.

Rory is a good man with good intentions, but he needs to grow up and realise that sometimes it takes time and experience to understand why things are the way they are, and this will help him make better informed decisions and drive change.

Malheur a la ville dont le prince est un enfant

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Best book I’ve listened to all year. Rory is a great narrator. It’s also a bit scary the state our politics is in. I hope Rory decides to get back into politics to help us get out of this mess.

Brilliant and terrifying

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Rory is the PM we could and should have had, and we'd have avoided the chaos of the last few years. You can feel his frustrations trying to do the right thing in an archaic and corrupt political system which keeps knocking him back. He comes across in this and his podcasts as a genuine, and above all honest politician who just wants the best for his constituency and country. His narration is great, especially some of the accents! Loved it.

Brilliant - and also rather worrying

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I think most people wonder what it is actually like to be and MP and Roy’s book presents an unashamedly frank view of how British politics functioned during the Cameron years. It is witty and self deprecating at times but there is an under tone of sadness as to what our political system seems to have become.

Very good book.

Great book, but very scary

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