Politics On the Edge: The must-read #1 Sunday Times bestseller from the host of hit podcast The Rest Is Politics Paperback – 6 Jun. 2024

An excellent insightful look at Government and the ins and outs of parliamentary affairs.The wheel and double- dealing of MPs an entertaining read

An engaging and somewhat bleak insight into what appears to be an often chaotic and self-serving system. Rory is a 'details' man, and this comes across strongly in his writing. Although I felt a great deal of sympathy at the outset of the book, I did start to wonder what it must be like to work with him. He is a man of great sensitivity and honesty, and there's a sense in which he was born too late for the kind of world he might prefer to live in. A very engaging and insightful read, although I felt the book could have benefited from a little more editing.

Although I've never voted Conservative, I found myself very much in agreement with Rory's views. And he expresses them clearly in this well written book. He comes across as well educated and intelligent, which of course he is, with diverse and interesting experiences of life. He doesn't pull many punches in this book, though it's interesting that he doesn't identify everyone by name, though what he says is certainly not anodyne.The book concludes in 2019. And look what's happened since then. I imagine the author saying, "well, I did warn you". Yes, he did.

- Rory Stewart is a conservative politician that I admire immensely – and I say that as some one more to the left of politics than the right. This book tells his story, from becoming engaged to politics in politics festival becoming a politician and into government leading and informing on the judicial system and other appointments. Eventually he came to the point where he decided to try and become the conservative party leader but came against Boris Johnson a deceitful politician in my eyes end up on this defeat then left politics. Stewart went against Boris Johnson because he felt that he would be a disaster for the party as I did two at the time. Now he is a presenter on a highly successful podcast with Alastair Campbell [a labour politician].- The book begins with a fantastic early section about how Britain is a wondrous and prosperous country that he now feels shame at its current government and how reliant we are on the rest of the world.- He describes life in government and how difficult it was to achieve anything. It’s almost like a cross between some Kafkaesque world and Catch 22. It's a fascinating look at how our current government is run and led – and Stewart tells his story well. I was gripped and I remember so much of this time.

An easy read, humorous, a behind the scenes look at the workings of Parliament. I have a better understanding of how decisions and legislation are passed.Rory comes across as someone who is caring, passionate and works hard to achieve a satisfactory outcome.The last six years could have been a lot different if the debate chaired by Emily Maitland had been on equal terms.Thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look for and read more books by Rory Stewart.

For: Very well written, engaging, and full of insightful anecdotes.Against: If you believe these anecdotes, Rory is a powerless pawn in a bigger game. I honestly believe he's a decent chap. But as per my title, I suspect he either wasn't the man for the job, wasn't man enough for the job, or he's portrayed himself as a victim.Ambitious Etonians - give me a principled mongrel any day. The whiff of inherited privilege pervades the book, and was no doubt more than a little responsible for his opportunities.

I always thought that Rory was a good guy. The first time I saw him on television, I instantly warmed to him. He never sounded like a Conservative politician to me!His life prior to politics was exceptional. After Eton, he spent a year in the army, and he was a diplomat in Indonesia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He did a two year walk across Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, and Nepal and wrote a best-selling book about it. He ran a charity in Kabul and was an academic at Harvard University. That’s a brief summary. One thing you can say about Rory is that he always gives 100%. He didn't just do the job, he ‘went native’.In his first term as an MP, he learned the ropes and missed out on promotion for defying the whips on one occasion. He is often scathing about his fellow MPs. His comments on Boris Johnson are particularly sharp. There are many superb anecdotes. Here’s one that tickled me, campaigning in Cumbria, he writes;“I began to notice that if a house was filled with books, the occupants would not be voting Conservative.”In his second term, he was given the first of several ministerial posts. He set about his roles doggedly. He was criticised as a minister for being too much of a civil servant and not enough of a politician. This may be true. I'm not sure. He was seemingly passionate in every ministerial role, especially regarding prisons. He visited many, spoke to governors, staff, prisoners. On one occasion he spent a night in a cell and wore a tag. If the UK had the electric chair, Rory would have gone for a ride in Old Sparky just to prove it was a cruel and unusual punishment. Joking aside, he did a lot of good work as Prisons and Probations Minister.He doesn’t say much about opposition parties in this book, but he has a lot to say about his fellow Tory MPs, and most (not all) of it is pretty damning. So why was he so loyal, for so long, to a party that (in my view) did not deserve him? That question isn't really answered.He criticises Boris Johnson and for sure, bad government is a bad thing. But, hang on, we're a democracy. In defence of Johnson, his values surely reflect those of the nation? Democracy is a kind of mirror. The government doesn't care about prisons because they rightly spot that the voters don't. The government ignores the homeless because most voters do. When Johnson won the leadership contest and then an election, the Conservative Party and the country got what we deserved. He won by democratic process.In the final act, Stewart stood in that leadership contest like Luke Skywalker trying to become a Sith Lord. With Boris in place, Rory Stewart is soon booted out of the Conservative Party. I was reminded of Caesars, purging the senators disloyal to him.This is a lengthy review, but there is so much more I could have said about this outstanding memoir. I think the ‘Politics on the Edge’ is a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. The really sad thing for me is that he would have been a brilliant Labour Prime Minister.