The Not Quite Prime Ministers
eBook - ePub

The Not Quite Prime Ministers

Leaders of the Opposition 1783โ€“2020

  1. 352 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Not Quite Prime Ministers

Leaders of the Opposition 1783โ€“2020

About this book

"I loved this book. It's full of things I didn't know and needed to know. It's fun too. Nigel Fletcher's instinct that you can illuminate politics through the study of opposition is fully vindicated." โ€“ Daniel Finkelstein, columnist, The Times

"A thoroughly entertaining and compelling journey through the too-often overlooked post of Leader of the Opposition and the various characters who have held it. Nigel expertly brings these opposition leaders to life, making for an amusing and informative read that is, above all, never dull for a single second." โ€“ Ayesha Hazarika, Times Radio presenter

"A delightful account of the strange lives of the politicians who didn't quite make it to the top job. A chocolate box of a book: wonderful to pick at slowly or to binge your way through in one long session." โ€“ Stephen Bush, associate editor and columnist, Financial Times

***

History is written by the winners, they say. And more often than not, it is written about them too. A library's worth of books have been published chronicling the UK's Prime Ministers โ€“ those individuals who somehow made it to the top of the greasy pole of politics, however short or undistinguished their tenure.

But what about those who failed to make it? Leaders of the Opposition present themselves as the alternative Prime Minister, waiting in the wings, ready to move centre stage. Many of them have indeed gone on to take power. But many more have not. Who were these potential PMs? Why did they never reach the top job? Do they all deserve to be remembered as losers?

In this often wildly entertaining anthology, Dr Nigel Fletcher of the Centre for Opposition Studies brings together profiles of the opposition leaders who didn't make it to No. 10, from Charles James Fox to Jeremy Corbyn. Packed to the brim with odd facts, amusing anecdotes and pub quiz trivia about each not quite Prime Minister, this compelling collection is a journey through British political history, bringing to life the figures from the other side of the political equation who had remained in the shadow of 10 Downing Street โ€“ until now.

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Yes, you can access The Not Quite Prime Ministers by Nigel Fletcher in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & British History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents
  4. Foreword by Matt Chorley
  5. Introduction
  6. 1: Charles James Fox
  7. 2: George Ponsonby
  8. 3: George Tierney
  9. 4: Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne
  10. 5: John Spencer, Viscount Althorp
  11. 6: Lord George Bentinck
  12. 7: Charles Manners, Marquess of Granby
  13. 8: John Charles Herries
  14. 9: Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville
  15. 10: James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury
  16. 11: Hugh Cairns, 1st Baron Cairns
  17. 12: Charles Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond
  18. 13: Spencer Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington
  19. 14: Sir Stafford Northcote
  20. 15: Sir Michael Hicks Beach
  21. 16: John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley
  22. 17: Sir William Harcourt
  23. 18: John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
  24. 19: George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon
  25. 20: Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
  26. 21: Joseph Chamberlain
  27. 22: Sir Edward Carson
  28. 23: William Adamson
  29. 24: Sir Donald Maclean
  30. 25: Arthur Henderson
  31. 26: George Lansbury
  32. 27: James Maxton
  33. 28: Hastings Lees-Smith
  34. 29: Frederick Pethick-Lawrence
  35. 30: Arthur Greenwood
  36. 31: Herbert Morrison
  37. 32: Hugh Gaitskell
  38. 33: George Brown
  39. 34: Robert Carr
  40. 35: Michael Foot
  41. 36: Neil Kinnock
  42. 37: John Smith
  43. 38: Margaret Beckett
  44. 39: William Hague
  45. 40: Iain Duncan Smith
  46. 41: Michael Howard
  47. 42: Harriet Harman
  48. 43: Ed Miliband
  49. 44: Jeremy Corbyn
  50. Epilogue
  51. Acknowledgements
  52. Index
  53. Copyright