On 22 May 2024, Rishi Sunak stood outside 10 Downing
Street and announced an early election, in an attempt to catch his opponents by
surprise. Just minutes later, Tory hearts sank, with images of the Prime
Minister soaking in the rain instantly defining his hapless campaign. The next
six weeks delivered more mistakes, a betting scandal, apocalyptic Tory polls,
bitter backroom arguments and finally the worst result in the Conservative
Party's 190-year history.
Keir Starmer's Labour, meanwhile, stormed to victory with
one of the biggest landslides on record after fourteen years in the wilderness.
But the party won with its fewest votes in almost a decade, raising questions
about how popular Starmer really was. Scotland's voters abandoned the SNP, Ed
Davey's Lib Dems surged to their best election ever and Nigel Farage once again
blew up the Conservative Party's plans.
This gripping account by seasoned Westminster journalists
Tim Ross and Rachel Wearmouth tells the full inside story of the key tactics
and powerful forces that delivered the most seismic upheaval in a generation.
What role did Starmer's character play in his party's success? How did Labour's
election machine engineer such a devastatingly efficient vote? Was there anything
Sunak could have done to avert disaster? What does it all mean for the future of
Britain?
Blending exclusive interviews and explosive accounts from
key players, Landslide sets out to answer these questions and more,
revealing a dramatic and sometimes disturbing picture of British politics at a
turbulent time.
Hardback | 384 pages | Published November 2024
