Penrith and The Border is one of the lesser-known constituencies in the U.K., but has turned over one of the rising stars of modern British politics, even since giving up his ministerial role. Once set to be a Prime Minister, what happened to Rory Stewart, and why do we never see him in Parliament anymore?
Politics On the Edge is an autobiographical account of the former MP for Penrith and The Border Rory Stewart, detailing his time as a civil servant, his walks across the Middle East & ultimately, his experiences as an MP and minister in Theresa May’s government. But as well as this, the book talks about the people Stewart worked around, their achievements and shortcomings, and importantly, the issues those wanting to make positive change face in Westminster, Whitehall and their constituencies.
Stewart’s writings give an account about an area at the top of our civil services that is very rarely explored. Being able to take a look at what it’s like for junior ministers to work in a government department, particularly under some secretaries of state whose names are all too familiar now (such as Priti Patel, Michael Gove, and especially Liz Truss), is an insight that I’ve never heard about before. Whilst this book did clearly have some instances of self-promotion or directly defending choices made in office, it was not a grovelling recount of how Stewart was the greatest MP to have ever taken office. Most striking to me, however, was the dedication this particular MP put into his role, including the two-year walk across Afghanistan before taking office, which definitely informed some of the later decisions the book speaks of.
Honesty among politicians seems to have been in short supply in previous years, but to have a former MP talk so openly and honestly about the role, the inadequacy of some of the people he worked with and the realities of the job, including his own suicidal thoughts, was astounding. If all MPs were as honest as Stewart, our political system would be an entirely different affair.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Politics On the Edge (ISBN: 978-1-787-33271-3) was published in 2023
