Overview

THE BESTSELLING BIOGRAPHY OF THE NEW BRITISH PRIME MINISTER ** INCLUDES THE INSIDE STORY OF THE ELECTOIN ** ‘Required reading for anyone who has an interest in who governs Britain' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL 'This will be the most important political book of the year’ MATTHEW D’ANCONA, EVENING STANDARD This authoritative – but not authorised – biography by Tom Baldwin provides answers by drawing deeply on many hours of interviews with Prime Minister himself, as well as unprecedented access to members of his family, his oldest friends and closest colleagues. Together, they tell an unexpectedly intimate story filled with feelings of grief and love that has driven him on more than any rigid ideology or loyalty to a particular faction. The book tracks Starmer’s emergence from a troubled small town background and rebellious youth, through a storied legal career as a human rights barrister and the country’s chief prosecutor, to becoming an MP relatively late in life. Baldwin provides a vivid and compelling account of how this untypical politician then rose to be leader of his party in succession to Jeremy Corbyn, then transformed it with a ruthless rapidity that has enraged opponents from the left just as much as it has bewildered those on the right. Above all, this is a book that should be read by anyone who wants to understand how someone who has too often been underestimated or dismissed as dull, now intends to change Britain. 'The first serious and consistently readable biography of Starmer…It is a wonder that he has said so much to Baldwin' PATRICK MAGUIRE, THE TIMES 'This is an absolutely riveting and very timely biography' AMOL RAJAN ‘Highly readable… Baldwin has peeled back more layers than anyone else' ROBERT SHRIMSLEY, FINANCIAL TIMES ‘Tom Baldwin’s portrait is of a tough, conscientious, and kindly man with the right values' ANDREW MARR, NEW STATESMAN

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9780008739645

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Reviews

'As well as being very well written, Baldwin obtained considerable access and he presents a compelling picture of what Starmer is like, and in particular how he was brought up. If you admire Starmer, you should definitely read it. And if you don’t like him, you should read it anyway, because he could be PM for the next 10 years and it may be a very long time before anyone produces a better or fairer account of what makes him tick' ANDREW SPARROW, GUARDIAN 'The access is so comprehensive and his subject so uncharacteristically candid that exploring this private world can almost feel prurient… At times it is unclear whether Starmer grasps the significance of what he has done in cooperating with this biography’ PATRICK MAGUIRE, THE TIMES 'Told with sensitivity and simplicity… The picture painted of Sir Keir’s motivations and make-up is skillfully done, with all the nuance kept in' BEN RILEY-SMITH, DAILY TELEGRAPH ‘A fair minded, unflashy biography…[of] our next serious Prime Minister. Watch this space. Attlee may have some competition’ ROBERT MCCRUM, INDEPENDENT ‘A highly informative, illuminating and insightful biography… the most complete portrait we have yet been offered’ OBSERVER

Author Information

TOM BALDWIN has spent most of his life writing about or working in politics from Westminster to Washington. He began his career on local newspapers before having senior roles for the Sunday Telegraph and The Times. He was the Labour Party's communications director under Ed Miliband and later helped run a mass campaign for a second referendum on Europe. He lives in London with his family.

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