Steve Richards – Atlantic Books – £10.99 Steve Richards’ last book was an entertaining and penetrating discussion of the last ten Prime Ministers (or at any rate, the last ten at the time of publication – we’ve had a couple more since then.) But as he writes in his new book, “Most routes to Number 10 are blocked.” But some of the nearly men and women are bigger and more substantial figures than the ones who made it to the top. Why did John Major become Prime Minister when Michael Heseltine did not? Why did Michael Foot lead the Labour party instead of political heavyweights like Denis Healey and Roy Jenkins? What prevented Neil Kinnock from making the final leap? And does Jeremy Corbyn deserve a place on the list? Steve looks in detail at eleven of the ‘lost leaders’, political actors who might have been expected to achieve their ambition, but who, for interestingly different reasons failed to do so, with his characteristic insight and deep knowledge. Steve Richards is a distinguished political columnist, journalist and presenter. He also presents a popular one-man show at the Edinburgh Festival and around the country, called Rock and Roll Politics, which is also the title of his hugely successful weekly podcast.