Political diaries and memoirs are the retirement fund of every politician. A nest egg cracked open when their time in office comes to an end or when career prospects are suddenly curtailed.
Matt Hancock is among the most recent writers, penning the ‘Pandemic Diaries’ with ‘journalist’ Isabel Oakeshott. The fallout from that tome continues to settle on the charred remains of Hancock’s political career.
Former PM Theresa May will be hoping for a better and healthier partnership with her co-author and is unlikely to grant unfettered access to her WhatsApp account for her new book. One which has certainly caught the eye of the general public…
What’s the title: ‘Adventures in the Wheat Fields’? ‘101 ways to create a hostile environment’?
‘The Abuse of Power’.
The what?!
“Exposing the abuse of power by public institutions and politicians in a series of riveting first-hand accounts from her time in office, Theresa May’s The Abuse of Power arrives in September.”
This sounds interesting.
It certainly does. This isn’t some vague and meandering tale which sidesteps every serious issue. The book promises to home in on the abuses which have been all too apparent in politics in recent years. It’s particularly interesting as, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and in the midst of Boris Johnston’s greatest excesses, Theresa May became something of a weathervane in the House of Commons, the cameras catching a sharp stare, shake of the head or look of disbelief as her colleagues prevaricated or failed to answer questions.
Exposing the abuse of power by public institutions and politicians in a series of riveting first-hand accounts from her time in office, @theresa_may’s The Abuse of Power arrives in September and we have limited signed copies available here: https://t.co/Aifq7ELDUS pic.twitter.com/5J7O0zq7s4
— Waterstones (@Waterstones) March 13, 2023
Will Windrush get a mention?
That is still to be determined. Windrush of course was the scandal which saw people wrongfully detained, denied legal rights and, for 83 individuals, wrongly deported. ‘The hostile environment’ created by Theresa May for asylum seekers and migrants during her time as Home Secretary is widely viewed as being at the root of the scandal. Her successor, Amber Rudd, took the fall for it. Definitely included in the book is the Hillsborough Disaster, the Grenfell fire and the unsolved murder of Daniel Morgan. ‘Stop and Search’ policies and the Salisbury poisonings also feature.
GET THE LATEST HERALD SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
And how is it expected to fare?
Officially out in September, the austere cover (the final design of which is still to be decided) and the subject matter suggests that this is a book of substance, one which will offer real insight from a former PM. May will be hoping it is better received than what Matt Hancock’s own publishers described as an ‘exercise in self-justification’. His Pandemic Diaries peaked at 191 in the book charts and quickly dropped out of the top 1000 with just over 3000 sales. Weeks on from its publication the chart position, and Hancock's reputation, continues to plummet.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here