A unique insight into how we are governed by political experts, Anthony Seldon and Ivor Crewe.

Who wants to be a Macmillan or Blair? 300 years after Robert Walpole became the first Prime Minister of the UK, the title of Anthony Seldon‘s new book on the role The Impossible Office? sums up the challenges, while Ivor Crewe‘s The Blunders of Our Governments shows that scandal, catastrophe and just plain incompetence are far from party political.

Downing Street historian Sir Anthony charts the humanity, frailty and achievements of the 55 individuals to have held the post, from Pitt to Johnson via Disraeli, Wilson, May and more, as well as the changing relationship with the monarchy and the country at large.

Called ‘an astonishing achievement…a genuinely original book’ by Andrew Marr, Master of Oxford’s University College Sir Ivor’s collaboration with Anthony King covers three decades of Westminster mishaps and explains why the British political system is quite so prone to appalling mistakes.

Sue MacGregor was born in Oxford and brought up in South Africa. She joined the BBC first as a producer, then as one of the first women reporters on Radio 4’s The World at One. For fifteen years Sue presented Woman’s Hour, after which she co-hosted Today, BBC radio’s flagship early morning News and Current Affairs programme, for many years. She went on to front the popular book discussion programme, A Good Read, and the award-winning The Reunion, bringing back together, after many years, people involved in an important and sometimes historically significant event.

After the live broadcast, the recording will be available until Sun 17 Oct. For information on how to use KPlayer please refer to our guide.

The Impossible Office? and The Blunders of Our Governments will be available to purchase at the Blackwell’s pop-up bookstall on Sun 3 Oct.