“A Decade in Tory†by Russell Jones was a shorter book than I thought. Ordinarily that might be a bad thing, but the reason for my confusion in this case is that there are nearly five hundred pages of footnotes and fifty for the index. There are plenty of criticisms you could make, but you can’t argue that it’s not well researched or that the events are made up.
Because, honestly, if you hadn’t lived through some of the stories, read about them as they occurred, you might well think they were fictional.
If it’s not obvious from the title, the book documents the various Conservative led governments from 2010 to 2022. It lists all the little twists and turns that you vaguely remember but had tried to forget.
That could all be a bit tedious and dry, but Jones has a way with words. He’s not going to win any literary awards but his description of some politicians are hard to forget.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the precise physical intersection of a cursed oboe and the concept of gout.
And:
He’s so devoid of personality that his official portrait is the curtains behind him.
You might be able to guess who this is.
She’s like a modern-day Cnut; and that’s not a typo, you just think it is.
It’s simply structured, easy to read and very self-aware.
It’s absolutely fine to scream occasionally while reading this book.
It’s not a classic. It’s not pretending to be unbiased. It won’t change anyone’s mind. In fact, you’ll likely know whether you’ll like it. Check out his feed on Twitter if you want a free preview.
It made Tory MPs feel very cross, and made everybody participating feel very cross, and it achieved absolutely nothing. A bit like this book.
If you’d forgotten how rotten the Torys have become, this book is a great reminder. But it’s important to keep some perspective and understand that politicians are not all the same. Many genuinely do get into politics to improve people’s lives and make the world better. I hope you voted for them in yesterday’s council elections, and not the bunch of Charlatans this book is about.