Simon Hart – Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip

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An insider’s story from the heart of government – as told by a man who knows…

Former Chief Whip and MP Simon Hart had a front-row seat to the most turbulent times in Britain’s recent political history: Brexit, Liz Truss’s 49-day premiership, the invasion of Ukraine… he’s seen and heard it all. In the oft misunderstood position of Chief Whip, Simon oversaw a record fifteen Conservative MPs fall by the wayside, for offences ranging from Matt Hancock’s unauthorized appearance on I’m A Celebrity… to Lee Anderson’s comments about the London Mayor. Each involved a noisy and vitriolic public commentary; none stopped him from becoming one of the few Chief Whips to survive an entire premiership. In an unflinching look at life as a Chief Whip, Ungovernable is a revealing, blow-by-blow account – offering a glimpse of what truly goes on in Westminster behind closed doors.

Simon Hart was MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire between 2010and 2024. Previously a chartered surveyor, Simon cut his political teeth as the former CEO of the Countryside Alliance. He served on four select committees and then, following Theresa May’s election as prime minister in 2016, became her representative on the Committee for Standards in Public Life. He was appointed as Minister for Implementation in the Cabinet Office under Boris Johnson, and then joined the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales. He later resigned from his government the day before Johnson himself surrendered. In October 2022, Rishi Sunak invited him to become Chief Whip. He is married with two adult children, and lives in Pembrokeshire.