THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
THE BESTSELLING INSIDER STORY OF WESTMINSTER'S BLOODIEST POWER BATTLES
'Myths are debunked, prime ministers exposed and secrets revealed ... essential' The Times
'Refreshingly honest' The Telegraph
'Entertaining and approachable' The Spectator
David Cameron. Theresa May. Boris Johnson. Liz Truss. Rishi Sunak. Five prime ministers, one explosive memoir. Kingmaker lifts the lid on the leadership battles that have defined British politics
The last fourteen years have seen turbulence at the centre of politics that is perhaps unique in British history. From coalition to Brexit, Covid to Partygate, Trussonomics to this year's election, our government has never felt so fractured. And as Prime Ministers have come and gone, one man has been at the heart of every leadership challenge, seeing all, but saying nothing. Until now.
Sir Graham Brady was the Chairman of the 1922 Committee since 2010. As the leader of the group with the power to choose a new leader of the Conservative Party, it was his hand that held the executioner's axe over five consecutive Prime Ministers' heads.
Elected to Parliament in 1997 as the youngest Conservative MP in the house, Brady comes from a lower middle-class background and fell into politics age 16 when he joined a campaign to save his grammar school. This book is the story of how a boy from Salford came to be the definitive political insider.
With unique access to every key decision-maker of the past fourteen years, it offers insights into the character and choices of successive Prime Ministers and the administrations they led. Ultimately, it reveals where our most recent leadership failures originate, and asks hard questions about who will be fit to lead us tomorrow. Born in Salford in 1967, Sir Graham Brady was elected to parliament in 1997 as the youngest Conservative MP in the house. Brady served as a Shadow Minister under four Conservative leaders before resigning in 2007 in protest at David Cameron's opposition to grammar schools. He was Chairman of the 1922 Committee, the group which selects the leader of the Conservative Party, from 2010-2024. During his tenure as 1922 Committee chairman, Brady oversaw the election of three Prime Ministers - Theresa May, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak - as well as votes of no confidence in May and Boris Johnson. Kingmaker is his first book. David Cameron. Theresa May. Boris Johnson. Liz Truss. Rishi Sunak. Five prime ministers, one explosive memoir from the heart of Westminster. Kingmaker lifts the lid on the leadership battles that have defined British politics for a decade and a half. A gripping insider account of the last five Prime Ministers, published to coincide with a historic general election. An entertaining political memoir perfect for readers of Rory Stewart's Politics on the Edge. 'Few memoirs in Westminster have been as anticipated ... No wonder it is titled Kingmaker: it could have been subtitled And Executioner ... Has the immediacy of a diary ... There are plenty of good stories here ... refreshingly honest' 'Awaited with bated breath by political insiders ... Kingsmaker takes a near inverted format to the recent slew of former Prime Minister's autobiographies' 'Deliciously bitchy'
