Breaking the Code : Westminster Diaries

In the general election of 1997, the Conservative Party was heading for electoral oblivion, the Prime Minister was competent but unable to connect with voters, the Labour leader was dragging his party back to the centre ground and MPs on all sides were embroiled in scandal.

Sound familiar? One of the many Conservative MPs who at that time found themselves staring down the barrel of almost-certain defeat, Gyles Brandreth understands what it’s like to be part of a government in its death throes.

His account of his time in Parliament from 1992 to 1997 also controversially revealed the secret world of the Whips’ Office and its struggles to control a party riven by infighting.

Now, as history looks set to repeat itself, comes the definitive edition of this widely acclaimed classic.

With candid descriptions of the key figures of the era, from the leading players to the ministers who fell from grace – and a bright young hopeful by the name of David Cameron – Breaking the Code paints an extraordinary portrait of Whitehall and Westminster in our time – warts and all.