About The Rebels

Chapter List

Praise for The Rebels

About the Author


Press enquires:

Sarah Bennett - Politico's
(020 7798 1612)
sbennett@methuen.co.uk

Contact the author: phil@therebels.co.uk


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Praise for The Rebels. "Philip Cowley is now the leading student of the voting behaviour of MPs - to whom journalists automatically turn whenever there is a Commons revolt. He not only analyses the numbers but also has a shrewd understanding of MPs' motivations - which he writes about in a readable way" - Peter Riddell "With unique insights and wit Philip Cowley crushes the myth of backbenchers as poodles. The secrets of the ferment of parliamentary dissent and the arm-twisting chicanery of the whips are revealed. This is a great read and a powerful warning that the rebels in the new parliament will not only bark but bite" - Paul Flynn MP "This excellent book should be compulsory reading for all serious students of this Government. It is rich not just in excellent analysis, but also in interviews and insights which illuminate how Labour MPs have behaved during the reign of Blair" - Andrew Rawnsley "A fascinating book by the political academic Philip Cowley, to be published soon, explodes some myths about independent MPs. Conventional wisdom has it that the era of the brave politician who voted with his conscience has been supplanted by the career politician who does what he is told. As usual, conventional wisdom couldn’t be more wrong" – Mary Ann Sieghart, The Times "The insider’s guide to parliamentary rebellions. This guy knows more about the voting behaviour of MPs than any other human being. In short, he is the stato of parliamentary divisions" - Tom Watson MP, Labour whip "Lazy journalists like to castigate today's Parliamentary Labour Party as the most supine on record, Tony Blair's sheep who provide him with a majority in a House of Commons bereft of backbench power and curbs on the executive. This lively and well-researched little book challenges such conventional wisdom" - Tribune. "[The claim] that Labour backbenchers are “the most supine MPs in British history” is completely wrong… Anyone who expresses such claptrap should read the entertaining and revealing new book, The Rebels — How Blair Mislaid His Majority, by Philip Cowley, the leading academic chronicler of parliamentary dissent" – The Times. "Cowley’s book is an important, and necessary, corrective to much of the nonsense talked and written about Parliament and its impact is strengthened by his forthright style and close understanding of the personalities in the Parliamentary Labour Party. Knowing where the bodies are buried, as well as the details of committee reports, not only makes for easier reading, but also underlines how these questions are essentially political" – Journal of Legislative Studies "Had Number 10 shown less contempt for Parliament, and less adherence for Bush's timetable for War, it would not have been possible or necessary to have organised the biggest ever rebellion of Government MPs and Philip Cowley wouldn't have become Parliamentary rebellion's finest chronicler" - Graham Allen MP "There aren’t many politics books which can truthfully be described as enjoyable: this is definitely one of them, and should at the very least be recommended to undergraduates, if only to convince them that politics isn’t half as boring as we’ve so far managed to convince them" - Political Studies. "Fascinating and entertaining" – The Week In Westminster, Radio 4. Praise for Revolts and Rebellions (Politico’s, 2002) Winner of the Political Studies Association Award for the Best Political Science Book published in 2002. “Excellent… should be mandatory reading for all serious students of British politics” – Party Politics “A splendid piece of work… and immensely readable” - The Journal of Legislative Studies “A very informative and scholarly study” - Parliamentary Affairs “The book is a winner’ - The British Politics Group Newsletter “Informative, well structured and very thorough” - EPOP Group Newsletter