# Suggest some book on UK politics and politicians **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-book-on-uk-politics-and-politicians/691314 "2014-06-21T19:00:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-book-on-uk-politics-and-politicians/691314/1 "2014-06-21T19:00:45Z")
I’ve always been fascinated with the UK Parliament. I’m looking for book suggestions. Here’s a sample of what I’ve read [http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Steel-Life-Politics-Star/dp/0352311282](http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Steel-Life-Politics-Star/dp/0352311282) > **[Upwardly Mobile: Amazon.co.uk: Tebbit, Norman: 9780708843925: Books](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Upwardly-Mobile-Norman-Tebbit/dp/0708843921)** > > Buy Upwardly Mobile New by Tebbit, Norman (ISBN: 9780708843925) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. > **[Time to Declare: Amazon.co.uk: Owen, David: 9780140148053: Books](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Declare-David-Owen/dp/0140148051)** > > Buy Time to Declare New by Owen, David (ISBN: 9780140148053) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. I’ve read numerous books on Thatcher as well. I’m looking for the time period between around 1970-present. They can either cover a particular politician or the politics of a particular era. A few particular topics I’m interested in: 1. The Lib/Conservative coalition and how on earth the Conservatives pulled that on. 2. John Bercow, Bernard Weatherill, Betty Boothroyd, basically any recent Speaker of the House. 3. What caused the Conservatives to turn against Thatcher? 4. The time period between John Major’s goverment and Tony Blair’s victory. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2014, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-book-on-uk-politics-and-politicians/691314/2 "2014-06-21T19:52:42Z")
I have one factual suggestion and two fictional ones. ‘A bag of boiled sweets’ by Julian Critchley covers the career of an MP from 1959 - 1992. He’s a good writer and gives an interesting report of the life of a Parliamentarian. ‘Yes, Minister’ and ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ are utterly hilarious. They also are pretty close as parody. Finally ‘House of Cards’ is the first of a gripping trilogy written by an MP. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-book-on-uk-politics-and-politicians/691314/3 "2014-06-22T01:26:02Z")
I have no books to suggest, but a couple of comments. > [@dalej42](#): > > A few particular topics I’m interested in: > > 1. The Lib/Conservative coalition and how on earth the Conservatives pulled that on. I am puzzled as to why you find this puzzling. Having spent close to a century as the “third, centre party”, with considerably fewer seats than the Conservatives or Labour, the Liberals gave up hope of forming a government by themselves decades ago, but clung to the hope of a return to a measure of power if an election led to a hung parliament, with neither major party holding a workable majority. Finally, their dreams came true and they grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Of course, they should have known that it would be a poisoned chalice, but given that it was the only thing that had given the Parliamentary Liberal Party any raison d’être for many decades, they could hardly turn it down. A coalition with Labour wold not have been viable even though many Lib Dem activists (though not so many Lib Dem voters, I suspect) would have been more comfortable with it. Even together, the two parties wold not have had an overall majority, and would still have needed to do deals with Celtic nationalist parties with which they have little in common. Furthermore, the electorate appeared to have fairly decisively rejected Brown’s Labour party, and the Lib Dems popularity would probably have plummeted even more quickly than it actually did if they had seemed to be “propping up” Brown. At least an alliance with the Tories could be made to look like a “new start” and, initially at least, like a real coalition which the Lib Dems had helped to shape. They really had no choice. in fact, their leverage within the coalition was very weak, and Clegg does not appear to have played the rather poor hand he was dealt at all skillfully, but that is another matter. > [@dalej42](#): > > 1. The time period between John Major’s goverment and Tony Blair’s victory. There was no time period between these things. One followed immediately upon the other. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-book-on-uk-politics-and-politicians/691314/4 "2014-06-22T16:43:59Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > I’ve always been fascinated with the UK Parliament. I’m looking for book suggestions. > > Here’s a sample of what I’ve read > > [http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Steel-Life-Politics-Star/dp/0352311282](http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Steel-Life-Politics-Star/dp/0352311282) > > [Upwardly Mobile - Norman Tebbit - An autobiography: Amazon.co.uk: Tebbit, Norman: 9780297794271: Books](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Upwardly-Mobile-Norman-Tebbit-autobiography/dp/0297794272) > > [Time to Declare: Amazon.co.uk: Owen, David: 9780140148053: Books](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Declare-David-Owen/dp/0140148051) > > I’ve read numerous books on Thatcher as well. > > I’m looking for the time period between around 1970-present. They can either cover a particular politician or the politics of a particular era. Smear! by Robin Ramsay and Stephen Dorrill. > [@](#): > > A few particular topics I’m interested in: > > 1. The Lib/Conservative coalition and how on earth the Conservatives pulled that on. The same way one would normally hire a cheap whore. > [@](#): > > 1. John Bercow, Bernard Weatherill, Betty Boothroyd, basically any recent Speaker of the House. That seems like a remarkably boring subject. > [@](#): > > 1. What caused the Conservatives to turn against Thatcher? Self preservation. They thought she would lose. > [@](#): > > 1. The time period between John Major’s goverment and Tony Blair’s victory. One ended with the other.