No Way to Run a Country

Brutally honest, insightful and darkly funny, No Way To Run A Country is former Cabinet minister Johnny Mercer’s account of a tumultuous nine years in Parliament.

Having served under five Prime Ministers, including Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, Johnny witnessed the drama of Brexit, the fall of Afghanistan, Russian invasion of Ukraine and more. In this deeply personal memoir he reveals what Westminster and government is really like . . . and why, for all our sakes, we need to see change.

Johnny, who fought in Afghanistan in 29 Commando Regiment, was fired up with anger at the poor treatment of veterans by successive governments. Determined to do something about it, in 2015 he stood for election in his beloved city of Plymouth. This political outsider was on a mission to change the country.

Johnny’s experiences in Westminster veer from hilarious to infuriating as he refuses to accept the gap between what governments say and what they do. As a result he is persistently threatened, briefed against, sacked as a minister – twice – and mocked in the media. Politics is a blood sport, whatever your party.

He sees a system riven with infighting, incompetence and inertia. There are many good MPs who deserve better. The public certainly does. As the outsider becomes the insider, he succeeds in creating the UK’s first Office of Veterans’ Affairs and introduces legislation to protect their rights and service. But for Johnny, who has his own struggles with crippling OCD, the long fight comes at a cost.

Perfect for readers of Politics on the Edge and Ungovernable.