Rory Stewart, Politics on the Edge: A Memoir from Within

Excerpt

Rory Stewart came into politics late and was forced out early, a casualty of the Conservative party’s bitter internal struggles over Brexit. In 2019, he entered the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development, but lasted only a few months. Once Boris Johnson became Prime Minister, there was no place for Rory Stewart at any level of the Government and he was soon to lose the Conservative Whip for opposing a no-deal Brexit, and with it his seat in Parliament. He was unusual among contemporary politicians for doing several different things before entering politics, serving (briefly) in the British army; walking on foot through Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Nepal; running an NGO in Afghanistan; and governing a province in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Before he was adopted as the Conservative candidate for Penrith and the Borders in 2010, he showed little interest in politics. As a student, he had been briefly attracted to Labour. He had never been a special advisor or a local councillor or even a member of the Conservative party. He now sees that he was very fortunate to get selected in 2010. He doubts it could happen today for someone as much of an outsider as he was. He decided to go into UK politics because he felt that it was the best way to make a difference and bring about change, and because he had “lost faith in the idea of foreigners trying to reshape other people’s countries” (p. 189). …