Stratagem Top 10 Political Reads

With election season upon us once more (yes, the fourth in 13 months) we thought we would take a break from the facts and figures to recommend the Stratagem top 10 political reads. In no particular order, and with absolutely no scientific methodology or polling, the winners are…

Nick Clegg, Politics: Between the Extremes

Nick Clegg defends the Lib Dems' decision to go into government with the Conservatives in 2010, and why he believes coalition government and compromise is the answer in an age of populism.

Andrew Rawnsley, Servants of the People: The Inside Story of New Labour

Dubbed “the political equivalent of Big Brother” Andrew Rawnsley takes us behind the scenes of 10 Downing Street during New Labour’s first term in office. A must read for any politico.

VS Naipaul, The Suffrage of Elvira

A comic novel (well, as comic as he gets) on an election campaign in his native Trinidad, with the memorable election slogan 'In God we trust - in man we bust!'

Joe Klein, Primary Colours

Initially published anonymously, Primary Colours is a fiction that runs very close to the truth and is based around Bill Clinton’s ’92 presidential campaign. A good read for the avid political campaigner.

John O'Farrell, Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter, 1979-1997

A book to make you laugh out loud with the despair of being in opposition for so long and the strange feeling that then comes with actually winning, and winning big.

Eamon Gilmore, Inside the Room: The Untold Story of Ireland's Crisis Government

A salutary lesson from our friends in the Republic of Ireland as former Irish Labour Party Leader Eamon Gilmore provides an account of, and justification for, the Labour-Fine Gael government that was tasked with picking up the pieces of the economic crash. The electorate rewarded the minority government party with a staggering 81 per cent drop in seats from 37 to 30 in 2016 - country before party most definitely.

Dan Boyle, Without Power Or Glory The Greens In Government

Another insight into the trials and tribulations of coalition government, bailing out bankers and trying to keep an eye on Fianna Fáil during one of the most interesting times in modern Irish history. Worth a read.

Ken Clarke, A Kind of Blue

This jazz-themed (!) memoir of Tory grandee and Europhile Ken Clarke offers a look into working with two of the most "damned difficult women" in modern British politics - Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. It might not be all that controversial but it is an enjoyable, timely read from a staunch defender of positive relations with Europe.

Charles Moore, Not For Turning 

The first volume of Charles Moore's authorised biography of Margaret Thatcher is followed by the Wham-inspired Everything She Wants, which brilliantly captures the politics of the conservative party, the Thatcher family and the UK in the 80s.

PJ O'Rourke, How the Hell Did This Happen?

If you want to return to the roller coaster of the 2016 American presidential election, O'Rourke's short and ranting polemic will entertain you for a short while at least.