Iain Dale of Biteback Publishing has acquired world rights to a new book by former Cabinet minister Oliver Letwin from Toby Mundy Associates.
This book is Letwin’s attempt to explain how the central ideas and policies of the modern Conservative party came into being, how they have played out over the period from Mrs Thatcher to Mrs May, and what needs to happen next.
In it he focuses on how one set of politicians has tried to lead the country in a certain direction as a result of holding a particular set of views about what will make it a better place in which to live. Far from being a sugar-coated version of history, Letwin hopes that by telling the story in this way, he will persuade the reader that politicians are capable of recognising their mistakes and learning from them – and to show that social and economic liberalism, if correctly conceived, are capable of addressing the issues that confront us today.
The book also describes Letwin’s own journey from a remarkable childhood with American academic parents, via Margaret Thatcher’s policy unit, into the very centre of first the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition, and then the Cameron government, where as Minister for Government Policy and then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, every piece of government policy crossed his desk.
It will include Letwin’s personal reflections on two devastating electoral events: the EU referendum and the general election of June 2017.
Toby Mundy said:
‘Oliver has written a grown-up and incisive book about politics — part memoir, part political history, part history of ideas — that I believe will be extensively reviewed and crystallise a wide-ranging debate about the state we’re in.’
Iain Dale said:
‘One of modern politics’ foremost thinkers, Oliver has produced a fascinating work that will set the pace for political writing for years to come.’
Hearts and Minds: The Battle for the Conservative Party from Thatcher to the Present will be published in October 2017.