The Right to Rule

A DAILY TELEGRAPH TOP 50 BOOK OF THE YEAR AND POLITICS BOOK OF THE YEAR

A GUARDIAN BEST POLITICS BOOK OF THE YEAR

'BRILLIANT' ANDREW MARR

'HAD ME OPEN-MOUTHED WITH AMAZEMENT' ED BALLS

'ESSENTIAL' JON SOPEL

'A GRIPPINGLY-WRITTEN, DETAILED BOOK THAT ANSWERS SO MANY QUESTIONS' ISABEL HARDMAN

'SUPERB' EVAN DAVIS

The explosive full story of the past dozen years of Tory rule, from coalition to self-destruction.

Over the last decade, the British people have seen five different Conservative Prime Ministers, with five different missions and five messages to the nation. From the ashes of a financial crisis, to a break from the EU, to a global pandemic, governments - and ideologies - have changed, but Tory power has clung on. Merciless rebellion and the swift ousting of leaders have enabled this, and yet the same ruthlessness may ultimately bring about their downfall.

Witty, hair-raising and brilliantly sourced, The Right to Rule links as never before stories of betrayal in Cameron's Coalition, the rifts behind the Referendum, the travails of May, the chaos of the pandemic, the sagas of Johnson, the Truss implosion and the Sunak patch-job.

Through his unique access and unmissable inside stories, acclaimed Westminster journalist Ben Riley-Smith's explosive account is essential for anyone wondering how the Tories kept changing, kept revolting - and kept winning. This is the entertaining and dramatic account of our times, for anyone wondering how Britain got into this state.

A brilliant encapsulation of thirteen years -- Andrew Marr
Essential -- Jon Sopel
A grippingly-written, detailed book that answers so many questions -- Isabel Hardman
Insightful, authoritative and incredibly readable. It had me open-mouthed with amazement -- Ed Balls
Superb -- Evan Davis
Marvellous . . . Packed with insight, gossip and candid reflections from the major players -- Stephen Bush
Expertly explains how a governing party mainly skilled in backstabbing survived in power -- Michael Portillo
A wonderfully written canter through an extraordinary decade and a bit. Highly recommended -- Chris Mason
Future historians will take Ben Riley-Smith's lucid and riveting book as their guide -- Alan Johnson
Colourful and richly researched -- Rafael Behr
Riley-Smith is an excellent, pithy writer with a knack for a telling phrase -- Daily Telegraph
A sharp insider account of the long Tory reign -- New Statesman
Terrific. Not all political books are page-turners. This really is. It will be a while before it's bettered. It is really excellent -- Matthew d'Ancona
Filled with chaos, rebellion, infighting, backbiting and catastrophe and much more. Interesting . . . a cracking read -- Financial Times, 'Readers' Best Books of 2023'
Future historians will refer to this study in cynicism and clever reinvention -- Daily Telegraph, 50 Best Books of 2023
Riley-Smith is an excellent, pithy writer with a knack for a telling phrase . . . it will remain among the best books written about the chaos and carnage of the last 13 years -- Daily Telegraph
A majestic digested read of the last 13 years of Tory leadership, drawing together the threads of fou -- Guardian, Best Politics Books of the Year

Ben Riley-Smith is the Daily Telegraph's Political Editor. He has spent a decade at the paper covering politics in the Scottish Parliament, Westminster and Washington, DC. He has interviewed the last five prime ministers and covered the elections and referendums that have shaped recent British politics first hand. He has been shortlisted twice for political journalism at the British Journalism Awards.

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