'John Le Carré meets Bill Bryson with a touch of Yes Minister' - the Irish TimesEamon Delaney's controversial Number 1 bestselling exposé of backstage life at the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.From the lonely nights at the Soviet Desk to glamorous soirées during Ireland's presidency of the emerging European Union, Eamon Delaney kept his ear to the ground - a useful skill when wedged precariously between Iran, Iraq and Israel at the UN General Assembly....

A History of Modern Britain by Andrew Marr confronts head-on the victory of shopping over politics. This edition also includes an extra chapter charting the course from Blair to Brexit.It tells the story of how the great political visions of New Jerusalem or a second Elizabethan Age, rival idealisms, came to be defeated by a culture of consumerism, celebrity and self-gratification. In each decade, political leaders think they know what the...

Allowing you to uncover the woman behind the 'Iron Lady' image, 'Iron Lady: The Thatcher Years' takes a thorough yet lighthearted look at the life and times of Britain's longest-serving twentieth-century prime minister. As both the first woman to become leader of a European country and the first British premier to achieve re-election for three consecutive terms, Margaret Thatcher's legacy is such that even today she plays a significant role in British political life. Reflecting on her life...

'Retiring in 1975, Fred Daly liked to tell the story of the new Member who sat next to him in the House. Turning to Fred, he said, 'I like to sit here and look across at the enemy.''Son,' said Fred, 'you are looking at the Opposition. The enemy is behind you.' 'Phillip Adams has been close to governments of various persuasions for over fifty years. Having been a confidant – or a fierce opponent – of many of Australia's most influential figure...

News, views and hilarious stories from the legend of Newsnight and long-standing quiz master of University Challenge.‘Bursting with good things’ Daily TelegraphDuring 25 years as BBC Newsnight’s supreme inquisitor, Jeremy Paxman proved himself as the master of the political intervview. From John Major to Theresa May and Tony Blair to Ed Miliband, he has them quaking in their boots. But it wasn’t just politicians. Paxman’s interview...

On the backbenches but still in the thick of it, Decline and Fall runs from Chris Mullin's sacking as a minister by Tony ('The Man') Blair in 2005 to the fall of New Labour in May 2010. Here is politics as it really is: entertaining encounters with constituents and conspirators, tantalising glimpses behind the scenes at the courts of Blair and Brown, all set against the background of the global financial crisis and the great expenses meltdown.Every bit as funny and insight...

Great Britain in the 1970s appeared to be in terminal decline -- ungovernable, an economic train wreck, and rapidly headed for global irrelevance. Three decades later, it is the richest and most influential country in Europe, and Margaret Thatcher is the reason. The preternaturally determined Thatcher rose from nothing, seized control of Britain's Conservative party, and took a sledgehammer to the nation's postwar socialist consensus. She proved that socialism could be reversed, inspiring ...

'It is said that failed politicians make the best diarists. In which case I am in with a chance.' Chris MullinChris Mullin has been a Labour MP for twenty years, and despite his refusal to toe the party line - on issues like 90 days detention, for example - he has held several prominent posts. To the apoplexy of the whips, he was for a time the only person appointed to government who voted against the Iraq War. He also chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee and was a me...

For much of its time in power, the National Party government was shored up by the direct involvement of its security forces. Ordinary citizens had no idea that their taxes were being used to fund unorthodox and even illegal operations, ranging from international propaganda campaigns to local death squads. From the dreaded Security Branch, the sinister Civil Cooperation Bureau, the aptly named BOSS and the ubiquitous front companies set up to bypass an arms embargo and economic sanctions, S...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain, Quentin Letts, comes his blistering new book on how Britain's out-of-touch, illiberal elite fills its boots.'HILARIOUS' Daily Mail'With its vicious takedowns, Quentin Letts' laugh-out-loud Patronising Bastards will have the lefty-elite running scared' The SunNot since Marie Antoinette said 'Let...

In an age of colourless bureaucrats, Nigel Farage is a politician who is impossible to ignore, provoking controversy and admiration in equal measure. A fun-loving iconoclast whose motto is work hard and play harderA", Farage's charismatic leadership and determination to battle the forces of anti-libertarianism have made him a Robin Hood figure to many, and propelled his party, UKIP, into a position of real power in the country. Never one for a quiet life, this paperback edition includes th...

A frank, gripping and moving - and controversial - autobiography from one of the most idiosyncratic and effective politicians of the last fifty years. His political convictions, his distance from New Labour, and his direct, plain-speaking style and personality have allowed him to survive longer than any of his contemporaries as a man of principle and influence.From his eccentric South London working class childhood to running one of the biggest cities in the world, Livingstone is o...