Dale, Bryant and Jarvis win Parliamentary Book Awards

Iain Dale, Chris Bryant and Dan Jarvis have won the 2020 Parliamentary Book Awards, an annual event voted for by politicians.

Now in their fifth year, the Parliamentary Book Awards were established by the Booksellers Association and the Publishers Association to celebrate political writing and recognise the link between politics and publishing. They are the only political book awards curated by bookshops and voted for by parliamentarians. Usually announced in a ceremony at the House of Lords, this year’s winners were revealed live on "The Matt Chorley Show" on Times Radio on 18th March.

Dale won Best Political Book by a non-Parliamentarian for The Prime Ministers: 55 Leaders, 55 Authors, 300 Years of History (Hodder & Stoughton), exploring each of the UK’s Prime Ministers, from lesser-known 18th-century leaders to key historical figures such as Churchill, Attlee and Thatcher.

His book had been up against Fake Law: The Truth About Justice in an Age of Lies by The Secret Barrister (Picador) and Difficult Women, A History of Feminism in 11 Fights by Helen Lewis (Vintage).

Dale commented: “On behalf of the 55 contributors to The Prime Ministers, can I say how thrilled we are to receive this award. It was a massive project to co-ordinate and it is fantastic that the judges have recognised how important books like this are in promoting knowledge of the individuals who have helped shape this country over the last 300 years. Political writing is more important than ever and these awards showcase the best of it.”

Bryant picked up Best Non-Fiction Book by a Parliamentarian for The Glamour Boys: The Secret Story of the Rebels who Fought for Britain to Defeat Hitler (Bloomsbury). His book is a history of the young, queer MPs who argued against appeasement with Nazi Germany in the late 1930s, and faced persecution and threats of exposure from the British government for their work warning the public about Hitler.

The MP said: “I feel honoured that my colleagues love this story of how the sustained fortitude of a group of gay men changed the world and helped see off fascism. I hope the men I have written about will now get the honour they deserve.”

He was picked from a shortlist also featuring The Art of Disruption: A Manifesto For Real Change by Magid Magid (Bonnier) and Tribes: A Search for Belonging in a Divided Society by David Lammy (Constable).

Jarvis received the Best Biography, Memoir or Autobiography by a Parliamentarian award for Long Way Home (Little, Brown), reflecting on his time serving in the elite Parachute Regiment, as well as the tragic loss of his wife to cancer, and what these experiences taught him about love, life and death.

The MP saw off competition from shortlisted books Ernest Bevin; Labour's Churchill by Andrew Adonis (Biteback) and Ayes & Ears: A Survivor's Guide to Westminster by David Amess (Luath Press).

He said: “Long Way Home is my story of coping with the challenge of tragedy, grief and war. It took five years to complete and has been a real labour of love. Some of it proved incredibly painful to write but I hope it’s a compelling read.”

Meryl Halls, m.d. of the Booksellers Association, said: “We are thrilled to announce this year’s Parliamentary Book Award winners, three fantastic titles which reflect the high standard of political writing being published today. It was wonderful to see the eclectic range of topics being tackled in the shortlist, which explored wartime activism by LGBT+ politicians, the history of political feminism, how to disrupt political norms, and the role of tribalism and identity in an increasingly global society. The Parliamentary Book Awards were launched to demonstrate the importance of books to the world of politics, and this year’s shortlist and winners continue to showcase this important connection.”

Stephen Lotinga, c.e.o. of the Publishers Association, added: “The Parliamentary Book Awards were established to celebrate the best of political writing. The quality of the UK’s political books can be seen in this year’s line-up which offers us personal reflections in Dan Jarvis’ Long Way Home, the story of a brave group of rebel politicians who changed the course of our history in Chris Bryant’s The Glamour Boys and an overview of all 55 British Prime Ministers in Iain Dale’s The Prime Ministers. All different, all brilliant. Huge congratulations to the winning authors and their publishers.”