Best political reads of 2024

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it can be stressful when it comes to shopping for last-minute gifts for loved ones.

Don't despair! I've reviewed five of the best political reads of the year below, all ready to be packaged up and left under the Christmas tree for your savvy politico family to enjoy.

Boris Johnson goes wild published by Harper Collins. Why the hell did you waste a lot of money buying Boris Johnson's new book, I hear you say! If I can name Drop (just for a change!), Sun Tzu, the Chinese military general, once said: Know your enemy and know yourself. Unleashed covers Boris's time as Prime Minister from 2019 to 2022, including Brexit and the Covid pandemic. Perhaps the most interesting chapters include references to his time as Mayor of London, before his tenure at Number 10. There were some interesting observations about the campaign to win the London Olympics and his attempt to get funding for London's e-bike scheme. That aside, the book was a strange hodgepodge of Sun headlines mixed with Latin phrases. This read like very rushed writing to meet a deadline, with poor sub-editing throughout. If you are looking for the real Boris, what motivated him to run for high political office and his vision for the country, then this is not the book for you. Yes, it's amusing in places and full of interesting anecdotes, like when he almost drowned while on vacation in Scotland because he was determined to take to the sea in an inflatable kayak to avoid the midgets of the Highlands. However, overall I was very disappointed with this overly hyped work, which promised a lot and delivered little. A bit like Boris himself?

Ideal for: Uncritical supporters of Boris Johnson who want a festive laugh.

William Manchester and Paul Reid The Last Lion published by Bantam. One of the most comprehensive and detailed accounts of the life of Winston Churchill from his early days as Prime Minister during World War II until his death in 1965. I found the final volume of three as the most convincing and detailed image. of the fate of Great Britain after the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Ideal for: The Churchill enthusiast who has the time and stamina to devour three volumes.

Alan JohnsonHarold Wilson published by Swift Press. Alan Johnson was a trade union leader who held various ministerial posts, including Home Secretary, during the Blair/Brown administrations. An excellent writer and speaker, I took him to Inverness in 2000 to speak to postal workers. This is a first-class analysis and highly readable biography of Harold Wilson, who retired as Prime Minister at the age of 60, two years younger than the current Labor Prime Minister. Wilson won four general elections and avoided British involvement in the Vietnam War by rejecting military overtures from US President Lyndon Johnson.

Ideal for: Labour's supporters, as a guide on how to change Britain.

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Anushka Asthana taken as red published by Harper Collins. Anushka Asthana is an experienced and talented journalist who is Deputy Political Editor of ITV News and co-presenter of Peston. It analyzes Labor's three defeats in 2015, 2017 and 2019 and asks how, in 2024, did Labor turn the tables to achieve one of the largest majorities in parliamentary history British? A lively page-turner that well describes Keir Starmers' four years on the substitutes' bench.

Ideal for: The general political reader who wants to know more about the fault lines of the Labor and Conservative campaigns since 2015.

Gavin Barwell, chief of staff published by Atlantic Books. Gavin Barwell was a Conservative MP between 2010 and 2017 and chief of staff to Theresa May at Downing Street. He now sits in the House of Lords. An insider's view on May's move to Number 10, which paints her as a victim of Brexit and extremists within the Conservative Party. Barwell provides (naturally) a very sympathetic portrait of May's tenure.

Ideal for:readers who enjoy ringside seats!

I wish all readers a Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.

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