All to Play For: The Advance of Rishi Sunak

by Michael Ashcroft

All to Play For, the anticipated follow-up edition to Going for The Rise of Rishi SunakPRAISE FOR GOING FOR BROKE"The fullest account yet written of Sunak the rising star." – Andrew Gimson, ConservativeHome"Clearly written, lively and perceptive, and contains much insight on the complex world of Tory politics." – Vernon Bogdanor, Prospect Magazine***The speed of Rishi Sunak's advance to 10 Downing Street is without precedent in modern British politics. In mid-2019, he was an unknown junior minister; seven months later, he became Chancellor of the Exchequer; and by October 2022, he had secured the highest office in the land. Aged forty-two, he was Britain's youngest Prime Minister in more than 200 years.Michael Ashcroft's biography – first published in 2020 and now fully revised and updated – charts Sunak's ascent to the University of Oxford, the City of London, Silicon Valley and Westminster before assuming the most powerful job in the country in chaotic circumstances.It is the story of a clever and hard-working son of immigrant parents who marries an heiress and makes a fortune of his own; a polished southerner who wins over the voters of North Yorkshire; a fiscal conservative who becomes the biggest-spending Chancellor in history; and a fastidious political operator tasked with reuniting the Conservative Party and repairing an economy in flux.Casting new light on Sunak's tense working relationship with his predecessor, Boris Johnson, All to Play For shows what makes him tick ahead of a general election whose outcome will have profound consequences for Britain.

496 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2024

About the author

Michael Anthony P. Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, KCMG, PC is an English–Belizean businessman and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is the 95th richest person in the UK, as ranked by the Sunday Times Rich List 2017, with an estimated fortune of £1.35 billion.

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was disappointed that this book, named 'All to Play For' is actually just a renamed, extended edition of 'Going for Broke', that wasn't at all clear when I bought it, so I fell for it. That said, I did enjoy the 8 or so new chapters which are well researched and easy to read - I enjoy Ashcroft's writing style. My criticism would be that Ashcroft is clearly fond of Sunak and gives him a slightly too easy time of it.