what concerning the conservative politicians who write scandalous books?

Cleo Watson, former deputy chief of staff to Boris Johnson, was punished involved within the infamous “PartyGate” scandal, which involved gatherings in government buildings while the UK was under a pandemic lockdown. The scandal ultimately led to Johnson resigning as Prime Minister.

She is the writer of Decolletea cheeky recent novel set against the backdrop of up to date conservative British politics. Cleavage depicts an embattled Tory party limping towards a seemingly inevitable electoral defeat. The timing of the discharge is interesting for those hoping that current British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will win the upcoming July 4 election.

At a time when the Conservatives are desperately trying distance themselves Watson's novel lifts the veil on her party's status for scandal and depravity. She is the newest in an extended line of conservative figures to write down popular novels, often set against an explicitly political backdrop.

At the start of her book, the fictional former Prime Minister Lord Percy Cross reads from his own raunchy recent historical novel entitled The Loin King.

It begins with a Tudor king breaking free from “the tangled limbs of big-breasted stable girls” to debate political matters: the war with Spain, the approaching beheading of his ex-lover, a plague that has broken out in Parliament. When his Lord Chamberlain observes that the plague was brought on by vermin, the king quips, “The rats or the members?”

In an interview, Percy says that The Loin King relies on his time as Prime Minister: “The atmosphere in Downing Street was very much like that of a Tudor court to me.” He then adds: “By putting everyone in corsets and ruffs, I distorted the character of anyone who might sue me for libel.”

By setting his cheeky political escapades in a special time period, Percy is, if anything, remarkably cautious—more cautious perhaps than many other politicians who’ve turned to fiction writing, including his creator.

Cleavage, in addition to its predecessor Whips (2023) is ready in Westminster against the backdrop of the Tory Party crisis: a setting that closely reflects Watson's previous skilled life.

Both novels also feature scandalous sexual adventures, starting from two candidates from the Conservative and Labour parties vying for a similar seat having a secret affair after meeting on a dating app, to the Prime Minister secretly watching powerlifting porn, to the Foreign Secretary answering committee questions with a vibrating love egg inside her body.

The vermin listed below are causing great distress to the members.

British politicians and popular literature

The tradition of British politicians writing popular (and sometimes scandalous) novels might be traced back to the 18th century. Matthew Lewis is healthier known today for his 1796 Gothic novel The Monk – a dark and shocking tale of sexual obsession, murder, witchcraft and the sale of 1’s soul to the devil – than for his six-year tenure as Member for Hindon.

Conversely, the novels of some very well-known politicians have now almost been forgotten. Barely veiled political allegorical novels akin to the novel by former Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli Vivian Gray (1826) and Winston Churchill’s Savrola (1900) are mere footnotes of their biographies.

It was only within the twentieth century that scandal and conservative politics really began to merge in popular literature. Perhaps probably the most famous example is prolific writer Jeffrey Archer – former deputy leader of the Conservative Party, current member of the House of Lords and the scene of various scandals (including the one which landed him in prison for perjury). His books have sold over 300 million copies worldwide.

However, he isn’t the one example. Boris Johnson published a widely panned book mentioned in 2004 Seventy-two virginsa few hapless, disheveled-haired MP who succeeds in thwarting a terrorist group's plan to attack the US President during a visit to Westminster.

Remarkably, it was published just months before Johnson was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet for lying to the general public about an extramarital affair.

Former Tory MP Louise Mensch can also be often called Louise Bagshawe and has written 15 novels with glamorous titles, akin to Large poppies (1997), Venus Envy (1998) and You know the evil (2003). These books should not set within the political world, but are daring chick lit stories with Women she describes as “feminist heroines who make it on their own.”

Meanwhile, former party leader Iain Duncan Smith published a political thriller, The Devil's Melodyin October 2003. In the identical week lost a vote of no confidence in his leadership. This had nothing to do with the publication of his book, but judging by the poor reviews, it probably didn't help.

And although current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has yet to write down a piece of fiction – although polls currently suggest he could have time to accomplish that after July 4 – he made headlines last yr by saying his favourite writer was Jilly Cooper, the writer of crime series akin to Riders (1985), Rivals (1988) and Polo (1991).

Cooper's notorious protagonist Rupert Campbell-Black is a staunch Tory who served as Minister for Sport for several years – although he originally only entered politics because he was having an affair with a politician's wife.

The political bonkbuster

The clearest precursors to Cleo Watson – within the genre we call “political bonkbusters” – are the works of former Tory MP Edwina Currie.

A parliamentary matter (1994) revolves around newly elected Tory MP Elaine Stalker, who begins an affair together with her Whip. It later seems that it’s a barely fictionalized version of Currie's own affair with then-future Prime Minister John Major, when he was her whip (from 1984 to 1988).

At the start of the book, Elaine's future lover introduces her to the world of Westminster, telling her that there are “three occupational hazards for MPs: the three A's”: arrogance, alcoholism and adultery. He advises her: “As long as you succumb to just one of these risks, you will survive.”

On the surface, the Conservative Party repeatedly campaigns on common sense and family values: the “fundamentals” of John Majors Unfortunate “Back to Basics” Election campaign in 1993. But the Tory politicians in these books rarely represent these values, although they’re portrayed as characters written by Tory politicians.

In “A Parliamentary Affair,” Elaine muses after starting her affair:

How strange that she, who entered Parliament with such strong views on the importance of traditional marriage and family, should find herself on this position […] Perhaps these principles were merely codes of conduct that could possibly be modified and discarded at will.

Answer

Both Currie and Watson were ousted from their positions of power in Tory governmentsWatson resigned during an influence struggle within the chaos of Johnson's term as Prime Minister. Currie was forced to resign as Health Minister because Salmonella in eggs crisis (a moment so infamous that she is known as “the egg woman” in Watson's Whips).

So while each could have a vested interest in painting a vision of the Conservative Party that isn’t necessarily flattering, it could possibly be argued that Currie and Watson's books also offer another vision of the party that meets the needs of girls, ethnic minorities and the LGBTQ+ community – amidst the arrogance, alcoholism and adultery.

By and enormous, these political scandals reflect how much the Tory party is tormented by scandal – and yet it may neither keep its hands off them nor stop talking about them, even when it damages the party's status.