Harold Wilson was one of the most successful politicians of the twentieth century.

Prime Minister from 1964-70, and again from 1974-76, he won four elections as well as a referendum on UK membership of the European Community. The achievements of the Wilson Era – from legalising homosexuality to protecting ethnic minorities, from women’s rights to the Open University – radically improved ordinary people’s lives for the better. In Harold Wilson, former Labour cabinet minister and bestselling author Alan Johnson presents a portrait of a truly twentieth-century man, whose ‘white heat’ speech proclaimed a scientific and technological revolution – and who was as much a part of the sixties as the Beatles and the Profumo scandal.

- Browns Books Synopsis

Each year, publishers are invited to nominate titles and authors for the awards, with booksellers selecting the shortlists, and parliamentarians vote for the winner in each category.