Ilkley Literature Festival welcomes journalists, authors, and politicians to the festival, which runs from 3 to 19 October, for its 2025 strand: Talking Politics.
Steve Richards is one of the UK’s leading political columnists, writing for the Guardian, Independent and New Statesman, and is a regular presenter of Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
He’ll discuss his latest and provocative biography, Tony Blair, arguing Blair left Britain in a better place, despite his legacy being overshadowed by the Iraq war. Richards argues the challenges Blair faced are the ones Labour still face today.
The former Chief Whip and Conservative MP Simon Hart brings to Ilkley his book, Ungovernable. From negotiations around Brexit to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hart became one of the few Chief Whips to survive for an entire premiership. Here, he shares his insider story and unflinching reflections on the heart of British politics from the centre of government.
The Times political columnist Patrick Maguire and Sunday Times Whitehall Editor Gabriel Pogrund share their bestselling, definitive, explosive behind-the-scenes account of Labour’s brutal reinvention and dramatic return to power under Keir Starmer. The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer is a blistering exposé of the most significant and ruthless political transformation in a generation.
Erica Morris, Director at Ilkley Literature Festival, said:
“With the turbulent political landscape home and abroad, it feels that there’s never been such urgency for informative and intelligent discussion and debate. Our festival has a long tradition of putting politics on the table, and we welcome some great minds exploring the state of our own UK government, as well as the wider geopolitical picture. It promises to be a fascinating strand.”
The economist and trusted BBC Verify correspondent Ben Chu [pictured above] discusses his book, Exile Economics – What Happens if Globalisation Fails. Ben picks apart the unfathomably intricate web of interdependence that has come to bind nations together, and underlines the dangers of the new push to isolationism, a phenomenon he calls exile economics. Explore this new world in all its promise and peril.
Correspondent and leading expert on China, Michael Sheridan, promises a revelatory conversation on arguably the most powerful man in the world with his book, The Red Emperor: Xi Jinping and His New China. Sharing insights drawn from decades of reporting, Sheridan shares an eye-opening analysis of Xi Jinping, from his early life and rise to power to his actions as absolute ruler. Hear how this loner and risk-taker became the most consequential leader of our time.
In his personal book, Peacemaker, the award-winning historian Thant Myint-U traces his grandfather’s rise from Burmese schoolteacher to become the first UN secretary of colour, whose decisions once shaped global war and peace. Discover U Thant’s integral yet forgotten role in the 20th-century’s most critical crises – from mediating a peaceful end to the Cuban Missile Crisis to desperately trying to prevent the 1967 Six-Day War – and the shifting world order he affected.
And the former senior politician and professional economist Vince Cable [pictured above] draws on a lifetime of political and economic experience to offer a compelling account of what the rise of China and India means for the future, with his book, Eclipsing the West.
Talking Politics is one of several strands at 2025’s festival, alongside Soft Power, Doing Justice, The Dark Side of the Internet, Novel Ideas, Explore Moor, Food for Thought and In Verse: The Rising of the North.
Leading authors appearing this year include Jung Chang, Mary Portas, Alan Davies, Jay Rayner, Hugh Bonneville, Nick Clegg, Ruby Tandoh, Simon Armitage, Michael Palin, Lady Hale, Rachel Joyce, and Irvine Welsh.
To book www.ilkleylitfest.org.uk Box Office: 01943 816714.
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