Tag: Politics

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Non Fiction Politics

Politics, But Better, Tatton Spiller

From the founder of Simple Politics comes a guide on how we can rediscover the heart of our democracy, reshape our political system and make the UK a better place for all.

With all the issues we hear which occurs at No.10 and it’s surroundings (especially over the past few years!) it is no wonder so many have lost faith in politics! However, Tatton Spiller brings to light twenty six issues in this A-Z guide and makes suggestions on how we can deal with them putting humanity and respect at the very forefront.

Perhaps there is hope after all.

I have always had an interest in politics but in our twenty four hour always on world it can be so incredibly difficult to keep up – not to mention anxiety inducing! That is where Simple Politics is incredibly useful as if you visit their Instagram you will see you get the facts, which are always partial, and they explain things in a way which the average person can understand. As a result of following them for years- I was very excited to see this book which was written by the founder!

The book is split in an A-Z style- each letter representing a different issue which is present in politics. This was a brilliant way to touch on many different issues, which were discussed partially, drawing upon evidence, as well as suggestions being made on how we could approach certain issues.

Tatton presents his thoughts in a unbiased way and draws upon examples from both the left and right, which makes this book a decent read no matter where you sit on the political scale. My only slight draw back is that there was a chapter which explained the values of conservatism but we didn’t get a similar chapter on the left and I think that would have made a wonderful addition especially for a reader who may be completely new to politics and/or someone who may have never opened their mind to the other viewpoint.

When I finished this book the main thing I took was we need to do better. We live in a world where you do something wrong- you get cancelled. You have an opinion- it if it doesn’t suit the majority then you receive unwarranted abuse. Throughout the book we are encouraged to be able to have debates, to listen to each other and to respect different opinions which I thought was such an important message.

Overall, a very enlightening read. I really hope one day we can see respect at the heart of our government again – Tatton for PM?

Many thanks to the publishers Elliot & Thompson and to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Politics, But Better will be published on the 7th September 2023.

Categories
Non Fiction Politics

This Land, Owen Jones

This Land is a balanced review of British politics over the last five years, in which Owen Jones discusses the rise and fall of Corybnism.

In 2015, Jeremy Corbyn, found himself in a race he never expected to win. He was a backbencher who was passionate about foreign policy and hated the limelight and adversity hence why he never intended to become leader. He ran for leader to make a point yet accidently found himself leader of the Labour party. Jeremy offered hope and a completely different way of living. After years of austerity, he became popular particularly amongst the younger generation and won people over with his ‘For the many not the few’ campaign, which led to the Labour party getting the highest vote share since 2001 and was the first time the party had gained seats since 1997.

However, Corbyn’s success was short lived and when the next election came around in 2019, Labour faced their biggest defeat since 1935. Owen Jones explores why this was, noting Jeremy’s hatred of facing conflict, the poor handling of allegations of antisemitism within the party, and the poor organisation skills and lack of Communications strategy for the 2019 election. Whilst for those who did support Corbyn this can be hard hitting; through these insights Owen Jones hopes that Labour can learn from these lessons to avoid history repeating itself in future elections.    

Throughout this book I believe Jeremy Corbyn is presented in a fair way. Owen writes in a way which ensures Corbyn’s personality and passions shine through, showing him for the kindhearted and caring person that I believe he is, but Owen is not afraid to discuss his faults. The book is well written, showing both sides of the story.

Overall, I found this a very good insight into politics and what goes on behind the scenes. It showed the importance of everyone getting behind a campaign, and how easily the media can manipulate the public. We don’t always see who the real ‘bad guys’ are, or equally who are the real drivers of a campaign, but Owen picks the past five years apart into so much detail that we can really pinpoint where things went right and wrong. Whilst, parts of this book were tricky to read (I found myself rereading pages to fully comprehend everything), I believe it is a great read for anyone who wants a better understanding of what went wrong for the Labour party in the 2019 election.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Press UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.