If you were wondering what former Special Adviser Phil Reilly had been up to lately, he reveals all today on his blog,
He’s been helping Nick Clegg write a book about the febrile nature of today’s politics. It’ll be published next year:
For the last few months I have had the privilege of helping Nick Clegg to prepare his upcoming book (hence the sporadic nature of these blogs), which has been formally announced by the publisher today. Politics: The Art of the Possible in an Age of Unreason will be published next year on The Bodley Head, an arm of Penguin Random House.
Nick has been clear from the start that he didn’t want to write a long-winded political memoir or a salacious kiss and tell. This is a serious book that uses his experience at the top and bottom of British politics, and his time in government in particular, to grapple with a big question: why has politics become so volatile and unpredictable? From Cleggmania and Corbynmania to the rise of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, the unlikely has become the commonplace. From the SNP and UKIP at home to Syriza and Podemos abroad, populism and the politics of identity is on the rise. In Politics, Nick explores why that is and what the future holds, especially for those who believe in the politics of evidence, reason and compromise.
The Bookseller quotes the publisher’s editorial director Will Hammond as saying:
Nick Clegg is uniquely well placed to describe the inner workings of Downing Street and Westminster while maintaining a dispassionate distance from our current government and opposition. More than an illuminating insider’s account, though, the book will use those experiences to explain why politics has changed so dramatically in recent years, what has been lost in the process and what might be done to address this lack. This book will be a must-read for anyone interested in British politics but will also speak to those who feel alienated by the political landscape today.
* Newshound in training. I'm sweet and full of mischief, just like my stories.
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49 Comments
A shame Clegg’s government career appears to be over. A truly great politician who would have been the best Prime Minister Britain ever had.
“Helping Nick Clegg write a book…”? So he’s a ghost writer then? I thought that was what pop stars and soccer heroes had. So much for a public school education!
Is that meant seriously? What party would he have been leading in this alternative universe?
[My comment relates to Stimpson’s]
………………..”would have been the best Prime Minister Britain ever had”. ?????????????????
Look out Gladstone, Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith, Lloyd George and Churchill……………………
‘to grapple with a big question: why has politics become so volatile and unpredictable’
I suspect that part of it is the rise of the internet – politicians in days gone by didn’t have to face the talkboard in-crowds. But on top of that what we have seen is simply change in society at large. In the UK we have had historic politics based on essentially class lines. We barely have any real working class now (plenty of prolier than thou internet comment of course) and the old middle class is changing too. On top of that we have a far larger supranational dimension that has acted as a wedge on the traditional parties.
Of course, for all the supposed volatility, 2015 turned out to be an unexpectedly orderly election.
All, stress ALL parties are grappling with changes in society and the supranational dimension that has hollowed the traditional state. What one makes of this and how one sees the LDP in it is, of course another matter.
‘Nick explores why that is and what the future holds, especially for those who believe in the politics of evidence, reason and compromise.’
It depends on what is meant here by, ‘evidence,’ and, ‘reason.’ Too many people active in politics in recent times have skated dangerously close to telling the electorate not to bother with the evidence of their own eyes – there’s plenty of advocacy research that says something counter-intuitive. Government and politics are not the same thing. Whilst government might be informed by evidence, politics need not bow before it.
Nick Clegg’s book will attract little interest.
A better book would have Dean Acheson’s quote, “Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role.” as a starting point. After all these years Britain has failed to find a role in the world which is reflected in its indifferent economic performance and sense of drift. What is needed is a forward looking work that is informed from all the difficulties of the past-“A Liberal Solution”.
@ John Marriott 12th Nov ’15 – 10:22pm
“Helping Nick Clegg write a book…”? So he’s a ghost writer then? I thought that was what pop stars and soccer heroes had. So much for a public school education!
Yes, FT award winning journalist Nick Clegg can’t write. And yes, no book ever written does not have research help and advice. And yes, every single book non-ficition starts with an acknowledgment “I wrote every single thing with no help from anyone else at all”.
Nick Clegg`s new book will be of great interest to all who tread a Liberal pathway in British politics.He led on a number of social and constitutional reforms and international policy and was at the helm of a new style of British ` Coalition’ Government rarely seen in centuries of our democratic representation. I look forward to reading it myself and certain it will enrich the lives of all students of British modern political decision making at the Executive table.
I wonder if a conventional politician can ever understand why many people support Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders, the SNP and Syrizia (on the left) or Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen or UKIP (on the right). I am not sure it is to do with a lack of “reason” or “compromise”. It’s to do with poverty (disguised by cheap credit and creaking welfare systems), fear of the future (collapse of pension schemes, job market that is shrinking, outsourcing and globalisation)) and an economy that offers little except to an elite at the top. Conventional politicians just cannot understand that because they have never known fear or insecurity and they will retire in great comfort. Conventional politicians using “reason” and “compromise” failed to predict the financial crisis of 2008 or growing conflict in the Middle East and no doubt they will fail to predict the next financial crisis or the next war. It’s no wonder millions of people no longer trust them and are seeking alternatives.
Quite shocked a former journalist and speech writer for Leon Brittan was unable to do this for himself. Others have pointed out his private education but after this he went to Cambridge where he joined the Conservative Association and studied Archaeology and Anthropology.
So, in fairness to Nick Clegg, maybe he was looking for the help of someone with an ability in the rewriting of history rather than its study?
This looks like being an interesting book, if as promised here, it examines the issue of elites versus representation. Members of the ruling elite tend to express this as Technocrats versus Populists.
Chris at Stumbling and Mumbling has recently addressed it here: http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2015/11/elites-vs-representation.html
And it is well worth re-reading Little Jackie Paper above, “It depends on what is meant here by, ‘evidence,’ and, ‘reason.’ Too many people active in politics in recent times have skated dangerously close to telling the electorate not to bother with the evidence of their own eyes – there’s plenty of advocacy research that says something counter-intuitive. Government and politics are not the same thing. Whilst government might be informed by evidence, politics need not bow before it.”
The test for this book will be whether, in the pursuit of reason, and the use of evidence, Clegg can sufficiently distance himself from the perspective of someone who believes they have a superior vantage point.
AFT,
10 out of 10 for loyalty. FT award winning journalist, hey? I wonder who helped him there then. The guy has previous!
Sorry, that should have been ATF. Dyslexia rules, KO! (Now awaiting responses from the PC brigade!)
@John Marriott
I’d have said exactly the same thing in response – my reaction was more as someone who works in publishing/print than as a LibDem 🙂
Ed Shepherd
I think you mean insecurity. Real poverty is found in countries such as Burma where the landslide election victory is based on hope.
@ Stimpson – ”… would have been the best Prime Minister Britain ever had”? You cannot be serious!!
To paraphrase David Raw – Look out Gordon Brown, John Major, Alec Douglas Home, Anthony Eden and Archibald Primrose. Plus don’t forget those giants who nearly made it like Michael Foot, Ian Duncan Smith, George Brown and others.
@Stephen Hesketh “Quite shocked a former journalist and speech writer for Leon Brittan was unable to do this for himself. Others have pointed out his private education but after this he went to Cambridge where he joined the Conservative Association and studied Archaeology and Anthropology.”
Because, Stephen, writing short newspaper articles to a tight deadline and writing political points designed to be spoken are very similar skills to writing a serious factual study.
As one of my favourite authors says about himself:
there was the 1944 Education Act which created State Scholarships for bright lads and helped me get into Cambridge. That’s where I learned to write boringly. I was writing to impress, not to inform. Twelve years in advertising agencies (London and New York) kicked the crap out of my style. Every word had to work hard. I wrote ad copy and commercials for everything from Esso petrol to The Wall Street Journal. Always I knew I wanted to move on, to be a fulltime writer – but I had nothing to say. Nothing worth reading, anyway (I was a late developer). I wrote two bad and unpublishable novels and finally got it right with a story called Goshawk Squadron.
“So, in fairness to Nick Clegg, maybe he was looking for the help of someone with an ability in the rewriting of history rather than its study?”
No, he has very wisely engaged someone who is an expert in writing readable history to ensure his ideas and research are converted into suitably readable prose.
There’s a few hundred Lib Dems who lost their jobs in May thanks to Clegg who won’t be able to afford a copy and if interested will have to rely on their local library. After the Coalition cuts to local government and the further cuts under the present majority Tory Government I wonder if my local library will be able to buy a copy, if its still open, not that I shall be asking.
One for the “Dramatic Fiction” shelf. Seriously though Nick, after the outstanding fiction you spun over 5 years, you think you needed a ghost writer?
@Adrian Sanders “There’s a few hundred Lib Dems who lost their jobs in May thanks to Clegg who won’t be able to afford a copy and if interested will have to rely on their local library. ”
And are all of them still unemployed?
TCO can always be relied on to put Schumpeter’s case for Creative Destruction: known in political circles now as Clegg’s Gale, in which feeble MPs are swept away leaving room for dynamic new Lib Dem candidates to take their place.
But I still like Stimpson better.
The heartless TCO should rest assured that those who have yet to find work are out there on their bikes looking for it.
I thought Clegg was supposed to be a full time M.P. ? Not seen much of him in the Chamber though…….
Cleggies legacy will be the coalition. It did for us. Look at the dreadfull, awful, nay diabolical result at Weymouth yesterday. Junior coalition partners get hammered, and it does not end easily, look at Eire and how the Greens and Labour have been sent to the graveyard by their participation in such activities.
“FRom Manfarang: I think you mean insecurity. Real poverty is found in countries such as Burma where the landslide election victory is based on hope.”
No, I mean poverty. A person lives in poverty where they cannot benefit from the products and experiences of modern society (good food, lighting, heating, healthy housing, medical care, education, culture, travel, social events, decent clothing and footwear). Millions of people in Britain cannot afford these items and experiences or have to borrow money to afford them. That is poverty and those people suffer from poverty although many politicians will insult them by saying it is not really poverty. This leads many people to lose faith in conventional politicians and turn to alternative politics. In countries such as Burma, I assume large numbers of people experience absolute poverty where they do not have reliable access to even the most basic facilities or sustenance. Absolute poverty is much rarer in Britain. Both absolute poverty and relative poverty are abhorrent and all politicians should be working to eliminate it as soon as possible. I seem to recall the constitution of the LD Party has something to say on the subject.
Im gutted for the 1/4 of a tree that will need to be felled to meet the global demand for this masterpiece
I’m guessing the title “how to lose supporters and alienate people” was already taken?
Alistair, you’ve started a competition for the book title. I’d go with: ‘Losing Deposits – in volumn, over time’
Title: The View from on High
@TCO “No, he has very wisely engaged someone who is an expert in writing readable history to ensure his ideas and research are converted into suitably readable prose.”
Careful T, people might begin to think you are close enough to Nick Clegg to know that for a fact!
Some good titles for the book suggested already but maybe “From Brussels and The Book to the Bubble and the Bunker: My role in scuttling the party of British Social Justice Liberalism”.
How about ‘Muscular Liberalism in the 21st Century’
What Nick Clegg knows about politics would not fill the back of a matchbox. He may, however, have some insight on government.
A possible alternative title? Why not copy Uncle Norman and call it “Last of the Summer Whine”?
“The Second Life of Walter Mitty”?
Flushed with Success – My role in watching Liberal Democracy go down the pan?
A restaurant reviewer was recently punished because the review was published before the restaurant had opened.
“This book will … speak to those who feel alienated by the political landscape today.”
What makes the author think that those who were alienated by Clegg and his circle of advisers around him will be listening?
The Coalition certainly dealt us a massive blow, how temporary we dont know yet, but it did massive damage to our rivals as well.
The effect on The Tories was obvious, The Coalition was agony for The Right & drove some of them even pottier than they were already. We widened Tory divisions, the fruits of which we will see next summer.
The damage done to Labour was more subtle & had quite different effects on the Left & Right. Overall, our presence in The Coalition gave Labourites of all stripes the opportunity to define themselves against us. Spitting on us was something they could all enjoy. The Soft Left drifted further left & picked up many of the bad habits of The Far Left, preparing the ground for the Corbyn surge. The Right simply drifted, not doing any hard thinking about their failures, not having to face up to their declining support. When the battle with The Left came The Right were out-organised & out-thought, they really didnt have much to say.
We can claim a small part in the changes that have made Corbyn Leader & prepared the ground for Labours coming split.
Paul Barker – I must admit when I saw the LibDems decline as a party year-on-year in hard won local council seats, wiped out in Commons and lose 20,000 members I failed to realise who cunning the LibDems were in orchestrating Corbyn’s rise to leadership of the Labour Party. Being a democrat I had mistakenly thought that the reason Corbyn was elected was through a process of mass support and democracy. Since his election the Labour Party membership has doubled to some 370,000 vs LibDems of what 60,000. Now admittedly Corbyn didn’t have the rich backers that the likes of Liz Kendall and Blairites, nor did he have a sympathetic ear from the Tory media – but I just missed the ‘small part that LibDems” played in getting him elected. Well done.
All please disregard previous post riddled with typo’s – very sloppy of me.
Paul Barker – I must admit when I saw the LibDems decline as a party year-on-year in so many council seats which had been hard-won over so many years, then wiped out in Commons and having suffered a loss of over 20,000 (a third) of party members, I had failed to realise how cunning the LibDems had been orchestrating Corbyn’s rise to leadership of the Labour Party as you suggest.
Being a democrat I had mistakenly thought that the reason Corbyn was elected was through a process of gaining mass support and something called democracy. Since his election the Labour Party membership has more than doubled ~ 370,000 vs LibDems of what 60,000?
Now admittedly Corbyn didn’t have the rich backers that the likes of Liz Kendall and other Blairites had, nor did he have a sympathetic ear from the Tory media, but I confess that I missed the ‘small part that LibDems” played in getting him elected. Well done thanks for giving me a choice in politics.
Clegg – ‘an L to D of how to distroy a political party’
“Thick, yellow and dangerous; shark infested custard or my advisors”
“Cameron, my part in his downfall”
“The day alarm clock Britons had a lie in”
” A Clockwork Orange Book”
I’m with Richard Underhill’s rather oblique comment here. The post consists of a bit from the publisher’s editor, who presumably knows what will be in the book and a quotation from the blog of Phil Reilly who helps/helped him with it, in some unspecified capacity.
Then we have a storm of speculation, assumptions, anti-Clegg prejudice and a few defences. There are some better comments, such Bill le Breton’s
Many of the comments here make me think about what an Ulster churchgoer had to say about the relationship between the opening Bible text and the sermon the minister preached on it. ‘If the text had measles, the sermon wouldn’t catch it.’ Substitute ‘posting’ and ‘many of the comments’ for ‘text’ and ‘sermon’.
Of course, more people will now be aware of the book, still in the future and maybe, as yet, unfinished….
Perhaps, some day, I’ll do a posting for LDV about Norman Clegg* to see how many anti-Nick comments it brings forth.
* ‘Norman Clegg’ is a character in a programme on the Televison, played for some decades by Peter Sallis.
Come on, Ian, some of us do live in the real world. As the person who posted the reference to Norman Clegg I was assuming that most people would know which show he appeared in. What’s wrong with a bit of fun? I’m sure that the real Mr Clegg is man enough to take it on the chin!
Here’s another old chestnut for you to ponder: If God had been a liberal, we wouldn’t have had Ten Commandments, but Ten Suggestions.
The Clegg story “I never promised you a rose garden”
Nick Clegg MP was guest of the day on the Daily Politics on 28/4/2016.
There was also a long interview with Ken Livingstone.
I am reading Nick Clegg’s book before commenting, but chapter 1 is entitled The Political Zoetrope. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoetrope. 264 pages.
Shirley Williams is quoted on the cover: “This is an important book: a revealing analysis of British politics today and why it urgently needs reform”.