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Whips

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The story is partly set in the Covid era and opens with Philip making a blunder in the Commons, supporting a public memorial to “celebrate” the deaths of frontline workers. He meant to say “commemorate,” of course, and apologises, but already he “can see the newspaper and social media headlines next to a picture of his own sweating face.” Shortly after, he has the urge to “strike” Owen, sending his “owlish glasses flying”. Such inner monologues pepper the book – and, however embittered and vengeful, feel satisfyingly honest. There are many reasons why ex-politicos turn to fiction. An attempt to hold on to the limelight. Cashing in with a potboiler. A childhood dream to write a book. A genuine interest in the novel as an art form. Boredom. Whatever the explanation, the insider-to-novelist pipeline is nothing new: Michael Dobbs published the first novel in his House of Cards trilogy in 1989 after falling out with Margaret Thatcher, for whom he was chief of staff. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Former deputy leader of the Labour party Tom Watson gets some points just for printing the name of his co-writer on the cover of his thriller. And the work of novelist Imogen Robertson shows: two convincingly drawn political enemies and former housemates, Owen and Philip, are at the centre of a plot that shifts nimbly between 2008 and 2022 as the pair’s past catches up with them. The book is prescient in other ways too. Labour loses election after election (“disaffection ran high in what were once Labour’s northern strongholds”), and after the death of Harry Perkins – a Corbynite, Tony Benn-like avatar – the party moves to the centre, and a Starmeresque figure ascends the ranks.

This Westminster-adjacent courtroom drama centres on a sexual misconduct case: James, an Eton- and Oxford-educated junior Home Office minister and best friend of the PM, is accused of rape by his aide, Olivia. Vaughan successfully renders the complex perspectives of the women surrounding James – including Sophie, his wife, and Kate, the QC prosecuting his case – offering an incisive take on institutional male privilege in politics and law. (The book has also been adapted into a Netflix miniseries.)On Thursday, the subgenre gained a new addition: Whips by Cleo Watson, Boris Johnson’s former aide and ally of Dominic Cummings. To mark the release, we’ve chosen the good, the bad and the average novels about Westminster dished up by insiders over the last 10 years, from the bonkbuster to the taut political thriller. Landslide win This sequel to A Very British Coup by the former MP for Sunderland South is set in post-Brexit Britain. Published in 2019, parts of the novel feel clairvoyant: “Brexit Britain was a gloomy place. True, the Armageddon that some had prophesied had not occurred, but neither had the economic miracle promised by the Brexiteers. The value of the pound had fallen steadily against the euro, the dollar and the yuan.” From hostile briefings and spad skulduggery to extramarital sex, there’s never been any shortage of bad behaviour in Westminster. But political scandal also makes brilliant fodder for novels. Corrupt, egomaniacal characters are natural-born protagonists. The historic corridors of parliament provide a cloistered, detail-rich setting. A culture of secrecy creates inevitable tension and intrigue. None of this goes unnoticed by the leagues of politicians, aides and journalists who pass through the system, watching the sagas unfold first-hand, and then decide to write novels about it. The Jilly Cooper-esque satire from the former Johnson adviser features an abundance of sex and scandal in Westminster. In her author’s note, Watson stresses that her characters are not based on real politicians. “Honestly, not everything’s about you,” she quips. This becomes hard to buy as Watson introduces characters such as the womanising Percy Cross, a former PM who resigns after a scandal and goes on to write columns for The Telegraph and “poorly researched hagiographies of his favourite historical figures.” Hmm. Hung parliament

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