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The instant Sunday Times Bestseller

‘A remarkable insight into a critical moment. Hart’s wit and tolerance makes his record of a system in crisis all the more convincing and troubling’ – Rory Stewart, author of Politics On the Edge

From Partygate to Brexit, over the course of five years, Simon Hart had a front-row seat to the most turbulent times in recent political history. Lifting the lid on the British Government, Ungovernable is the first insider account of life as chief whip.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, Brexit negotiations and Liz Truss’s extraordinary forty-nine-day premiership – Simon Hart’s seen and heard it all. And starting in 2022, under Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, he witnessed successive dramas unfold, all while holding down the (often misunderstood) position of chief whip.

Astonishingly, during those whip years, Simon oversaw a near-record fifteen Conservative MPs fall by the wayside. Three of these were resignations, including Nadine Dorries and the scandal of her disappearing peerage; two were defections to Labour; and the remaining ten were suspended by Simon for offences ranging from Matt Hancock’s unauthorized appearance on I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! to Lee Anderson’s comments about the London Mayor. Each one of these involved an extensive build-up, a complicated process and a noisy and vitriolic public commentary.

None of this stopped him from becoming one of the few chief whips – of which there have been eleven since 2010 – to survive for an entire premiership.

In a first-of-its-kind, extraordinary look at life as a chief whip, Ungovernable is a revealing, real-time, blow-by-blow account – offering a glimpse of what truly goes on in Westminster behind closed doors.

The Sunday Times Top 5 Bestseller at no. 3, w/b 10/03/2025

Publisher Review

A remarkable insight into a critical moment. Hart’s wit and tolerance makes his record of a system in crisis all the more convincing and troubling — Rory Stewart He is the insiders’ insider and shows how Government works – or actually doesn’t. This is a balls-up-to-break-down account of how the Tories managed to get through multiple Prime Ministers and a large majority to fall flat on their faces. You couldn’t make it up — Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards Simon Hart is a secret masochist – writing a diary every night after a punishing day as Chief Whip. But the results of his labours are a joy. Engrossing, entertaining, poignant and, at times, so funny I was laughing out loud. The Whips’ Office, he says, is a ‘field hospital’ for his colleagues. Some hospital, some colleagues. Politics in the raw, and all the better for it — RT Hon Jack Straw Highly readable . . . Hart has a brilliant eye for moments of high farce * The Guardian * Extraordinary — Jon Sopel, on The News Agents podcast Completely wild — George Osborne, on the Political Currency: EMQs podcast Hilarious — Libby Purves, via X/Twitter