‘This book is here to take you inside the daily realities of Westminster. I don’t mean that it’s going to bore you to death with a blow by blow account of what it’s like to sit on the Statutory Instrument Debate on Naval regulations 1968-2020 – but to demystify the places and practice of politics.’ From agonising decisions on foreign air strikes to making headlines about orgasms, from sitting in on history-making moments at the UN to eating McCain potato smiles at a black-tie banquet in China, the life of a politician is never dull. And it’s also never been more important. But politics is far bigger than Westminster, and in this book Jess Phillips makes the compelling case for why now, more than ever, we all need to be a part of it. With trademark humour and honesty, Jess Phillips lifts the lid on what a career in politics is really like and why it matters – to all of us. This is the inside story of what’s really going on.

Best summer reads 2015 John Crace, Guardian Not for everyone the title of Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary or other such hallowed callings; the vast majority of the House of Commons is made up of backbenchers – the power behind the constitutionally elected throne. Here is a guide for anyone and everyone fascinated by the quirks and foibles of Westminster Palace, covering all species of backbencher and providing every hardworking MP and political enthusiast with the know-how to survive life in Parliament. From how to address the crowd, weather marital troubles and socialise at party conference to the all important Backbenchers' Commandments, How to Be an MP is indispensable reading for anyone wishing to make a mark from the back bench and influence proceedings in the House. And in the process it provides the outsider with a riveting insight into life as a Member. - An unique guide to being a Member of Parliament. - Essential reading for MPs and a fascinating account of life and work in the world's oldest Parliament. - Has sold 5,000 units since first publication in 2012. - Foreword by Speaker John Bercow.

In 1975, Marilyn Waring was elected to the New Zealand Parliament as the MP for Raglan. Aged just twenty-three, she was one of only a few female MPs who served through the turbulent years of Muldoon’s government. For nine years, Waring was at the centre of major political decisions, until her parliamentary career culminated during the debate over nuclear arms. When Waring informed Muldoon that she intended to cross the floor and vote for the opposition bill which would make New Zealand nuclear free, he called a snap election. And the government fell. . . This is an autobiographical account of Waring’s extraordinary years in parliament. She tells the story of her journey from being elected as a new National Party MP in a conservative rural seat to being publicly decried by the Prime Minister for her ‘feminist anti-nuclear stance’ that threatened to bring down his government. Her tale of life in a male-dominated and relentlessly demanding political world is both uniquely of its time and still of pressing relevance today.

As a small boy in Epping Forest, Jack Straw could never have imagined that one day he would become Britain's Lord Chancellor. As one of five children of divorced parents, he was bright enough to get a scholarship to a direct-grant school, but spent his holidays as a plumbers' mate for his uncles to bring in some much-needed extra income. Yet he spent 13 years and 11 days in government, including long and influential spells as Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary. This is the story of how he got there. His memoirs offer a unique insight into the complex, sometimes self-serving but always fascinating world of British politics and reveals the toll that high office takes, but , more importantly, the enormous satisfaction and extraordinary privilege of serving both your constituents and your country. Straw’s has been a very public life, but he reveals the private face, too and offers readers a vivid and authoritative insight into the Blair/Brown era and, indeed, the last forty years of British politics.

Some people enter politics because they want to make the world a better place. Then there are those with welldeserved inferiority complexes who want status, power and position. Few believe me, but I entered the House of Commons purely by accident.' High virtue in high office? Not a chance, says Jerry Hayes. No staid autobiography or dry political memoir, An Unexpected MP takes you on a raucous and salacious romp through Westminster, the media and public life. In this no-holds-barred exposé, Jerry Hayes shows exactly why people were so surprised when he became an MP - from the duty policeman who told him to bugger off when he rolled up on his first day, to the Iron Lady herself, who looked with a steely eye on his cheerful chutzpah. And, as the perfect antidote to the holier-than-thou, whiter-than-white ways of the current crop of politicos, the shameless - and shamelessly entertaining - Hayes makes a brilliant tour guide to the strange country that is Parliament, taking gleeful swipes at left and right alike. Full of tall tales of unspeakable debauchery on a tsunami of alcohol, An Unexpected MP is a thundering account of the offbeat lunacy of Westminster and Fleet Street.