Honest Opportunism: The Rise of the Career Politician - Hardcover

This is an account of how one climbs the greasy pole of politics to success and how one falls to failure and oblivion. This is a book for all Westminster-watchers and power-hungry careerists. Why out of a population of 57 million are 651 chosen to sit in Parliament? And why out of those 651 will some become ministers and a few reach the heights of the Cabinet, whilst the majority remain permanently on the back benches? What is it that attracts people to politics in the first place? And how does a family of die-hard Labour supporters produce offspring committed to the Tories? From public school to the Oxford and Cambridge Union, this book looks at traditional career routes to Westminster and asks whether political aspirants from such elite backgrounds are ideally suited to serve the interests of the people. It looks at how politics have changed over the last 30 years, and examines the irony that those who do not make it to the top serve their constituents a great deal better. It considers why some succeed - timing, single-mindedness, perseverance and luck - and the reasons for failure, ranging from political extremism, sexual delinquency and questionable business associations, to being in the wrong place or party.