Planes, Trains and Toilet Doors: 50 Places That Changed British Politics

In car parks, village halls, and seaside resorts, where the mundane has played host to the mighty, chance meetings, untimely deaths, and snap decisions have shaped modern British politics. Matt Chorley has spent two decades covering Westminster and interviewing prime ministers, and in his book "Planes, Trains, and Toilet Doors," he combines insider-knowledge, smart analysis, and detailed research with his background in comedy to create an hilarious history of how politics actually happens.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 12 October 2023
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Brilliant! This book is like a bag of political nuts, moreish and incredibly salty. Joe Lycett, A Times Book of the Year Forget the Westminster bust-ups and PMQs; some of the key events that have shaped modern British politics unfolded not in the cloisters of parliament or Downing Streets but in car parks, village halls, and seaside resorts, where the mundane collided with the mighty. From the Putney Heath duel between Pitt the Younger to discovering Margaret Thatcher's voice coach on a train, Harold Wilson's Scilly season holidays to John Major's dental appointment clearing his path to No. 10—these (and many more) are the places where chance meetings, untimely deaths, and snap decisions altered the course of politics.

Matt Chorley has spent nearly two decades covering Westminster, interviewing prime ministers, mocking ministers, and chronicling the serious and sometimes unintentionally absurd events that serve as unlikely turning points in the direction of a nation. Illustrated by award-winning political cartoonist Morten Morland, Planes, Trains, and Toilet Doors combines Matt's insider knowledge, sharp analysis, and detailed research with his background in comedy to create an hilarious history of how politics actually unfolds.

Weight: 700g
Dimension: 227 x 160 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780008622060