Jo Swinson’s Equal Power was one of my best reads of this year. I have now bought or won four copies of the thing – one on my Kindle, one real one and two to give away. Last weekend, I spent a small fortune on yet another at the Edinburgh West dinner. It is a book that everyone should read. It’s not just a book, it’s an action plan. Jo is never one to underestimate anyone’s capacity for work, so she shows us how we can be the change we want to see.

So I’m chuffed to see that Equal Power has made the shortlist in the “Best Non Fiction by a Parliamentarian” category in the Parliamentary Book Awards 2018. The awards ceremony will be held on 4th December and the winners will be chosen by parliamentarians themselves.  The 11 shortlisted books are as follows:

Best Memoir by a Parliamentarian

• The Power of Politicians by Tessa Jowell, and Frances D’ Souza, edited and with an introduction by Claire Foster-Gilbert (Haus Publishing (published with the Westminster Abbey Institute))
• In My Life: A Music Memoir by Alan Johnson (Transworld)
• Confession of a Recovering MP by Nick de Bois (Biteback)
• Confessions of a Political Maverick by Austin Mitchell (Biteback)

Best Non-Fiction by a Parliamentarian

• Equal Power: Gender Equality and How to Achieve It by Jo Swinson (Atlantic)
• Eve Was Shamed: How British Justice is Failing Women by Helena Kennedy (Random House)
• Yes She Can: Why Women Own The Future by Ruth Davidson (Hodder)
• Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters by Jesse Norman (Penguin)

Best Political Book by a Non-Parliamentarian

• Poverty Safari: Understanding the Anger of Britain’s Underclass by Darren McGarvey (Picador)
• 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari (Random House)
• Why We Get The Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman (Atlantic)

Publishers were invited to nominate books and authors for the awards, and the shortlist was drawn up by booksellers.

There’s definitely some great Christmas gift ideas for the political geek in those shortlists.

What’s also interesting is that a blast from the past pops up in this press release.

The Chief Executive of the Publisher’s Association is quoted as saying:

Great political writing offers us a lens through which we can examine our society and the world around us. This year’s shortlist of authors provides us with many profound insights into the tumultuous events of the last year, touching on important themes of gender, equality and the nature of power. I look forward to celebrating all of these important books at the House of Commons in December.

That’s one Stephen Lotinga, who was once a Special Adviser to Nick Clegg in the coalition era.

This article was amended on 12 November to amend errors in the original shortlist supplied to us by the award organisers.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings. You can find her on Bluesky at caronmlindsay.bsky.social