Snakes and Ladders: Navigating the ups and downs of politics

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The most torrid post-war period in politics has arguably been from 2010 to today. No one is better placed to give an insiders view than Rt Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, who came into Parliament in the wake of both the financial crisis and the expenses scandal to experience at first hand the incredible highs and lows of the events that would follow.

From working cross party on reform of the European Union to the stage at Wembley as a key figure in the Leave campaign, through two leadership campaigns, Cabinet intrigue, squaring off against an increasingly erratic Speaker, and from founding a campaign to give babies the best start in life to securing a landmark Spending Review settlement, Andrea Leadsoms story tracks the incredible highs and lows of a career in politics.

As a lifelong optimist, Andrea argues that political careers dont have to end in failure, and in this very personal and educational account, she gives a real insight into the daily goings on with Spads, Ministers, civil servants, Parliamentary colleagues and the media to argue that political careers dont have to end in failure.

Andrea puts the reader in the room to let them experience what it was really like, how it felt to be in those extraordinary situations, and how, like a game of snakes and ladders, it is often about getting yourself into the right place at the right time.

Author Bio

The Rt Hon. Dame Andrea Leadsom DBE has been the Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire since 2010, prior to which she worked in the banking and finance industry for twenty-five years. Alongside her business and political career, Andrea has been founder, chairman and trustee of a number of early years charities since 1998. Between 2014 and 2020, Andrea served in government as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Leader of the House of Commons and Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. She is currently serving as the government's early years healthy development adviser, chairing the cross-Whitehall Start for Life Unit to implement policies around the 1,001 critical days.