Book Review: ‘Remaking One Nation: Conservatism in an Age of Crisis

From leafy Windsor to the former mining town of Bolsover, British prime minister Boris Johnson has achieved what Theresa May could not: a Conservative majority that spans the country’s traditional class divides. But May’s failure was not for want of trying. In June 2017, she held an ill-fated snap election to attempt to wrest back control of Parliament. The aim was to charm working-class Labour heartlands, particularly in the north. It failed. And as the clock struck 10 p.m. on polling day, she panicked and called her joint chief of staff, Nick Timothy.

“She was sobbing,” writes Timothy in his new book, Remaking One Nation: Conservatism in an Age of Crisis. “I remember thinking she sounded like a child who wanted to be told everything was just fine.”

About the Author

Patrick Mulholland

Patrick Mulholland is a newswire reporter for the Financial Times.

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From leafy Windsor to the former mining town of Bolsover, British prime minister Boris Johnson has achieved what Theresa May could not: a Conservative majority that spans the country’s traditional class divides. But May’s failure was not for want of trying. In June 2017, she held an ill-fated snap election to attempt to wrest back control of Parliament. The aim was to charm working-class Labour heartlands, particularly in the north. It failed. And as the clock struck 10 p.m. on polling day, she panicked and called her joint chief of staff, Nick Timothy.

“She was sobbing,” writes Timothy in his new book, Remaking One Nation: Conservatism in an Age of Crisis. “I remember thinking she sounded like a child who wanted to be told everything was just fine.”