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As Labour MPs take a break after a rollercoaster year from opposition to power, we’ve asked them for the best political books they’ve read over the past twelve months.
Here is a selection of their recommendations…
Elsie Blundell (Heywood and Middleton North)
Out of the Blue – The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss.
Well-written, and served as a reminder of that 49-day, terrifying period of incompetence that was the Truss premiership. We must never trust the Tories with the economy again.
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth)
Failed State by Sam Freeman. Although as with any book I don’t agree with every part of it, the observations about centralised power when devolution is so live are interesting.
Anneliese Midgley (Knowsley)
Harold Wilson – Ben Pimlott.
Pimlott is the best political biographer of his generation, Wilson is the best Labour PM and of course I have an interest as I am a successor of Wilson in Knowsley (part of the constituency covers his seat of Huyton).
Blair McDougall (East Renfrewshire)
Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum.
A warning that the bad guys are coming for us while we sleep.
Kirsty McNeill (Midlothian)
I read Pete Brown’s Clubland: How the Working Men’s Club Shaped Britain in January and I’ve not been able to stop talking about it since. The clubs movement is such an important part of working class, co-operative and labour movement history. We need to fight not just to protect it but to further its aims. Talk to me about clubs or, even better, come and visit one of Midlothian’s miners’ welfares.
Adam Thompson (Erewash)
Paul Richards: How to Write a Parliamentary Speech: A practical guide for politicians and speechwriters. A fantastic resource for new members and our staff!
David Smith (North Northumberland)
The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines That Divide Us, by Nick Hayes.
It’s a powerful reminder of the physical and social divisions that keep us apart and of the startlingly small amount of our country that is genuinely accessible to the British public.
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