This parliamentary recess, catch up on your reading with the Biteback summer reading list! From polemics to policy, we have the books you really should be reading.
How to Be an MP: Learning the Commons Knowledge by Paul Flynn
MP or not, this is a guide for anyone and everyone fascinated by the quirks and foibles of Westminster Palace.
It is indispensable reading for anyone wishing to make a mark from the back bench and influence proceedings in the House.
But it’s also a must-read for the outsider wanting to peel back the curtain on life as a Member.
Broke: Fixing Britain’s poverty crisis edited by Tom Clark
Statistical warning lights are flashing to suggest a return to types of deprivation we once thought consigned to history, but it is the individual human stories of communities ignored by politicians that really hit home.
In Broke, Tom Clark assembles today’s masters of social reportage to reveal the contemporary experience of modern poverty while also offering actual solutions, crucial for fixing Britain’s poverty crisis.
Home Truths: The UK’s chronic housing shortage – how it happened, why it matters and the way to solve it by Liam Halligan
Chronic housing shortages, unaffordable homes and spiralling homelessness are the symptoms of the housing crisis currently gripping the UK. But what can be done?
In this searing polemic, Liam Halligan offers radical solutions, drawing on interviews with Cabinet ministers, civil servants, leading developers and struggling homebuyers.
Equal Ever After: The fight for same-sex marriage – and how I made it happen by Lynne Featherstone
Lynne Featherstone was the originator and architect of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, ratified ten years ago.
Her book reveals the emotional lows and exhilarating highs involved in turning hard-won social acceptance into tangible legal equality.
Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine: Invasion amidst the ashes of empires by Samir Puri
When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, many in the West were left stunned at his act of brutal imperialism. To those who had been paying attention, however, the warning signs of the bloodshed and slaughter to come had been there for years.
Samir Puri was present for several of the major events covered in this book and uses his experience to ask honestly: how did we get here?
Welcome to Britain: Fixing Our Broken Immigration System by Colin Yeo
Another prevalent and polarising subject today is immigration. In Welcome to Britain, campaigner and immigration barrister Colin Yeo tackles the subject with dexterity and rigour, offering a roadmap of where Britain should go from here as he exposes the injustice of an immigration system that is unforgiving, unfeeling and, ultimately, failing.
Beyond the Red Wall: Why Labour Lost, How the Conservatives Won and What Will Happen Next? By Deborah Mattinson
Deborah Mattinson, director of strategy for Keir Starmer, asks why proudly working-class voters in Red Wall areas were tempted by the ‘posh party’ and questions if they will ever again make their way back to the Labour fold.
A timely, far-reaching analysis of how we got to this point and where we can go next. Wherever that is, one thing is now certain: the Red Wallers have the power to change history.
Last Trains: Dr Beeching and the Death of Rural England by Charles Loft
In Last Trains, Charles Loft exposes the political failures that bankrupted the railways, and he produces a fascinating study of a nation grappling to come to terms with modernity.
With train operators having confirmed that they plan to close the majority of the UK’s staffed ticket offices in the latest attempt to modernise the rail network, this book couldn’t be timelier.
For more thought-provoking books, why not try: