History
is written by the winners, they say. And more often than not, it is
written about them
too. Books have been published chronicling all of the UK's Prime Ministers -
those individuals who somehow made it to the top of the greasy pole of
politics, however short or undistinguished their tenure at No. 10.

But
what about those who failed to make it? Leaders of the Opposition present
themselves as the alternative Prime Minister, and many of them have indeed gone
on to take power. But many more have not. Who were these potential PMs? Why did
they never make it to Downing Street? Do they all deserve to be remembered as
losers?

In
this often wildly entertaining anthology, Dr Nigel Fletcher of the Centre for
Opposition Studies brings together key details of each failed opposition leader
from Charles James Fox in 1783 to the modern day. Listeners to Matt Chorley's
show on Times Radio during 2022 will have heard Nigel every Monday discussing
his Leader of the Opposition of the week, and this book contains all the odd
facts, amusing anecdotes and pub quiz trivia from those features, plus much
more.