Pan Macmillan votes yes to former chief whip Simon Hart’s political diaries

Pan Macmillan has announced it is publishing former chief whip Simon Hart’s diaries.

World rights to Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip were acquired by publisher Sara Cywinski from Max Edwards, then at Aevitas Creative Management UK and now at Apple Tree Literary.

Ungovernable will be published in February 2025 in hardback, e-book and audiobook, which will be read by Simon Hart. 

Hart had a front-row seat to some of the most turbulent British political history, from negotiations around Brexit, to Liz Truss’ 49-day premiership and to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hart said: "I have kept a hand-written diary ever since I was elected in 2010. Looking back now, my ’take’ on what was happening at the time can look hilariously dated. This is why I have opted to highlight only the period between the exit polls of the December 2019 election and July 2024. It’s this segment that asks how on earth did the Conservative Party manage to go from unassailable to unelectable, and burn through three very different prime ministers in the process."

He added: "While mainly an account of graft and determination, it was ultimately one of human failings too – as the loss of a record 15 MPs on my watch shows. I realise now how hard it became to conceal the comic exasperation that came with every day in the Whips Office. We tried our best to ’deliver the Government’s business’ with humour and sensitivity, and I hope my scribbled recollections reflect what a complicated task that can sometimes be."

Cywinski said: "Ungovernable is set to be the word on everybody’s lips. Simon’s front-row, real-time perspective and insight is really rather extraordinary. I also look forward to everyone finally learning what the role of chief whip really entails."

Hart was MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire between 2010 and 2024.