Andy Birtwistle

An excellent 'fly on the wall' account of dysfunctional government, by a man who was in the thick of it.Rory is not only a man of high intellect and understanding,he is also a very good storyteller.However this book is much more than personal account of his years as an MP,because we learn about the man himself,his motivations,his concerns and most of all his strong sense of duty and his desire to make the world a better place for others less fortunate than himself.Personally,being of an opposite political persuasion,I was at first sceptical,but Rory's enthusiasm and sense of purpose soon converted me to believe that he says what he means and means what he says.He very quickly sees through the manipulation and deceit of political life and eagerly,almost evangelically throws himself into the challenges he is presented with.His upper class upbringing,education and background,could easily have made him relax with a comfortable life,but the opposite ensues.Certainly his time in the military and administrative roles abroad,set the scene for what follows and these experiences forge a desire to understand the world and its ways and to help to change peoples lives in a positive manner .This he does in Afganistan,but politics interference and ignorance of cultures,by others in power,frustrate and eventually defeat his efforts.This is sadly also his swansong within the Conservative Party,where ignorance and cronyism eventually gangs up against him culminating in the obscene rule of Boris Johnson's premiership,a sort of modern day Nero! The reader is left with the feeling that Stewart didn't fail as a politician,on the contrary, he was a shining star in a rapidly dimming galaxy,but it ground him down, as the system attempted to stamp out his zeal and enthusiasm and assimilate him into an increasingly self serving, narrow minded cult.He may well have been the best Prime Minister we never had,but this reader's take is that he did well to survive and get out before it did him permanent damage.He was actually too good for the job,and will serve us all better in other roles.