Chums: Updated with a new chapter

Now with a new chapter on the end of the chumocracy era - and Oxford's upcoming elite for 2050. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2022 A TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT BEST BOOK OF 2023 Power. Privilege. Parties. It's a very small world at the top. 'Brilliant ... traces Brexit back to the debating chambers of the Oxford Union in the 1980s' James O'Brien 'A searing onslaught on the smirking Oxford insinuation that politics is all just a game. It isn't. It matters' Matthew Parris 'A sparkling firework of a book' Lynn Barber, Spectator 'Exquisite and depressing in equal measure' Matthew Syed, Sunday Times Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, David Cameron, George Osborne, Theresa May, Dominic Cummings, Daniel Hannan, Jacob Rees-Mogg: Whitehall is swarming with old Oxonians. They debated each other in tutorials, ran against each other in student elections, and attended the same balls and black tie dinners. They aren't just colleagues - they are peers, rivals, friends. And, when they walked out of the world of student debates onto the national stage, they brought their university politics with them. Thirteen of the seventeen postwar British prime ministers went to Oxford University. In Chums, Simon Kuper traces how the rarefied and privileged atmosphere of this narrowest of talent pools - and the friendships and worldviews it created - shaped modern Britain. A damning look at the university clique-turned-Commons majority that will blow the doors of Westminster wide open and change the way you look at our democracy forever.

About the Author :
Simon Kuper is an author and Financial Times journalist, born in Uganda and raised around the world. An Oxford graduate, he later attended Harvard as a Kennedy Scholar. He has written for the Observer, The Times and Guardian, and is also the author of The Happy Traitor.

Review :
An extraordinary book ... I got angrier and angrier and angrier as I read it A searing onslaught on the smirking Oxford insinuation that politics is all just a game. It isn't. It matters A devastating portrait of the arrogant rogues and chancers who have spent the past thirteen years playing at politics instead of governing A gripping read ... exquisite and depressing in equal measure A sparkling firework of a book Incisive, insightful and timely Fascinating ... The picture Kuper draws is of a nation with a decadent and deeply unprofessional ruling class, a diagnosis with which it is impossible to disagree Immensely entertaining ... a tremendous romp jam-packed with delicious indiscretions A brilliant book A penetrating analysis of the connections that enabled an incestuous university network to dominate Westminster and give birth to Brexit ... perceptive and full of surprises Johnson, Cameron, Rees-Mogg, Gove and Cummings all feature in this look at the hidden depths of our current political establishment and its inextricable link to Eton and, in particular, Oxford University Shows how the culture of Oxford decisively influenced the tone of British politics and led to Brexit. Brilliantly written, it gripped me Kuper is alert to the deficiencies of the Oxford Union style, the tendency to substitute some glib debating point for hard-headed analysis ... Engagingly brief with delightful details Intellectually bracing ... a deep dive into the culture of the upper-crust public schools and university that produced ten of the UK's 15 post-war prime ministers Elegant, witty, economical ... it is absurd how much influence this tiny, moneyed circle has been able to wield, and deeply depressing Chums is not just about the smallness of Britain's privileged elite or the early advantages it enjoys. Simon Kuper goes further ... to critique a system that attaches more importance to winning debates than shaping policy The best ever written dissection of the formation for what passes as the modern Tory Party's leadership A snapshot of a time gone by, bringing alive 1980s Oxford in vivid detail ... a thrilling read Engaging and detailed ... [This] may be the last generation of such Oxford Tories, yet their policies may well influence the United Kingdom for generations [A] highly entertaining, and often infuriating examination of the clique of Oxford Tories that gave us Brexit Praise for The Happy Traitor: Kuper provides a different and valuable perspective, humane and informative Truly enthralling ... a deeply human read, wonderfully written, on the foibles of a fascinating, flawed, treacherous and sort of likeable character The most comprehensive and insightful biography to date Readers who prefer their politics polemical (and Britain in Europe) need look no further than Simon Kuper