Downfall

by Nadine Dorries

14 YEARS

5 PRIME MINISTERS

THE PARTY IS OVER

After decades in the hands of malevolent players and two years of disastrous leadership, the Conservative party stands at the edge of the abyss.

From the humiliation of Liz Truss’s 49-day premiership to the shameful, self-serving drift of Rishi Sunak’s time in office, Downfall is the story of a political party on the verge of extinction.

Picking up on the events that followed The Plot, Nadine Dorries draws on interviews with those in the room to expose what really went on behind the scenes. From group sex sessions organised via WhatsApp, to the King being stood up at the Privy Council and the real reason why Rishi Sunak left the D-Day celebrations early, the accounts are raw, unvarnished and brutal. Everything is worse than it seems.

The next leader will hold the future of the party in his or her hands, and with outside forces resisting change, the challenge will be as enormous as it will be difficult. But the painful truth is that the party deserves to be where it is – and nothing can stay the same.

With unparalleled access to the people who were actually in the room and who will speak to Nadine with a frankness with which they would never speak to a journalist, Downfall promises to be THE political book of 2024.

309 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2024

About the author

Nadine Dorries was born in Liverpool in the 1950s and raised on a council estate, the daughter of a bus driver. Her first novel, THE FOUR STREETS, was inspired by memories of her childhood, particularly her Irish grandmother who she was very close to.

Nadine trained as a nurse, then followed with a successful career in which she established and then sold her own business. She has been the MP for Mid-Befordshire since 2005 and has three daughters.

Nadine is currently working on her second novel, a sequel to THE FOUR STREETS.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting book looking at the downfall and self destruction of the Conservative Government and events prior to the 2024 general election.

[Inez Gallagher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fascinating insight into what Nadine Dorries likes (gossip, Manuka honey in a cappuccino, a big brek, Boris Johnson) and dislikes (Michael Gove, Kemi Badenoch, shagging in parliament).

[Jacob Stelling · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was just bonkers. It doesn’t even really qualify as a book, more just a series of interviews with unnamed figures. There isn’t any analysis beyond the conspiracy-fuelled narrative which Dorries picks back up from the previous book.

Genuinely curious to know whether people actually read this and believe its claims – Nadine Dorries included.

[Alistair Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well to say that this book is crackers is putting it politely. This is the follow up to The Plot in which the author uncovered a malign clique who run the Conservative party, unseat Prime Ministers, fix candidate lists and effectively have a large number of MPs in their pocket.In essence Boris was stiched up, Sunak was an incompetent PM, Michael Gove is behind it all and Kemi Badenoch is their latest project despite her character flaws as a lazy, thin skinned, rude plotter, basically only Boris can save the party.
The author presents this book as a sort of spy novel, she has secret meetings with people who are not named (every conversation seems to be uncredited), spoons honey into her drinks and seemingly believes everything she is told. What she does lay bare is just how unpleasant and hypocritical many MPs are and just what a sordid pit Westminster can be.
The central issue is that if this malign clique exists and is as all powerful and clever as they are said to be then what is the point, power apparantly but they seem to have miscalculated with Rishi being incompetent, Truss becoming PM at all, Gove never achieving high office and Kemi seemingly to be a flawed character who they will remove despite her seemingly being the entire point of it all. Chris Pincher was set up and Boris was the victim of a witch hunt in this telling.
All in all this is crackers but then maybe that is what they want you to think...

[John M · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty weak effort that repeats itself over and over. Basically we have a former Conservative minister telling us not to trust the Conservative party as it's clandestinely run by bad people. So - no news there then!

[Connor Wallace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Impossibly, this was even more unhinged than the first book… It’s just a series of conveniently anonymous gossip sessions recounted in confusing detail and is very repetitive. Maybe I’m the idiot for finishing it…

[john r s baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll admit that I am not a fan of Nadine Dorries and her sycophantic relationship with Boris but this book was actually worse than I expected!
I expected the flowery prose and ludicrous scene setting which was also in 'The Plot' and reads like a romance novel but 'my beloved milk frother' is a new low!
What is really bad about the book is how little there actual is in it. Nadine speaks to a number of 'authorities' in the Tory party and they all tell her the same thing.
There is a group controlling the Tory party and they have been responsibly for first Rishi becoming PM and then when that failed Kemi Badenoch. The chief puppet masters are Dougie Smith and Michael Gove and it falls apart because Rishi is thick and Kemi is lazy and obnoxious. Each chapter the same information told a different way and all saying that none of them can hold a candle to the wonderful flaxen haired past and future saviour of the Tory party - Boris.
Why did I read it? because I was curious at her take on the disastrous election and the future, instead I was bored. Only question is whether I have overmarked it!

[Rob Mead · Rating 1 out of 5]

Either the author is uncovering a serious, decades long conspiracy which only she (via her unnamed, unsubstantiated, nudge and wink sources) has the guts to uncover, or this is a Jilly Cooper-esque political romp of clandestine sex, shadowy evil men, and a lot of people calling each other darling.

(Don’t) read it and make your own mind up

[Tim Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Quite readable . I havent read The Plot - this is the sequel. The central premise is that the Conservatives would be in a much better position if Boris had remained prime minister. Not convinced about that, which perhaps detracts from other points the book is trying to make. Nevertheless, an interesting point if view.

[Ryan Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with the last book, it was very well written and an interesting read. Yet, this is much more far fetched and her favouring of Johnson seems more and more unjustified. There are also multiple factual inaccuracies that I noticed immediately and anyone could have checked with a simple Google.

[max · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book pmo so bad

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wavered between two and three stars with this one, but finally decided that the lack of real analyses tipped it down to two. Essentially this is a collection of transcripts with a variety of people who worked in or around Parliament during the premiership of Sunak. You are basically listening to the conversation's on why Sunak was made PM and why he was such a disaster. Spoiler, it's a conspiracy led by a small group manipulating things behind the scenes, with the dark genius of Michael Gove front and centre. I don't doubt that factions exist and will always try to manipulate things to best advantage, I was somewhat less convinced by this. Above all there is no real consideration of other causes for the Conservative downfall, everything is laid at the door of this cabal with Sunak the final nail in the coffin. In that she is not wrong, but there was, I think, so much more that led to this point. It's not a bad read, quick and with some interesting conversations, but overall this lacked depth.

[Trevor Vick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conspiracies (continued) at the heart of the Tory Government, by an insider.

[sam cerw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Badly written but entertaining take on the Conservative Party meltdown.

Interesting insights but there is a personal agenda .. Dougie Smith Cummings and that evil Gover were responsible for the demise of Boris and aftermath.

The Plot and this volume wouldn't have seen the light of day if she had not been overlooked for a peerage .. and off she goes in a hissy fit ti Reform until the return of Cincinnatus.