Get In

The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer

De: Patrick Maguire, Gabriel Pogrund

Brought to you by Penguin.

Get In is the definitive behind-the-scenes account of Labour’s brutal reinvention and dramatic return to power under Keir Starmer.

From electoral wipeout in 2019 to landslide victory in 2024 and on into Labour’s first hundred days in government, Get In is a blistering narrative exposé of the most significant and ruthless political transformation in a generation. At its heart is Morgan McSweeney, a mastermind of political subterfuge and author of a strategy, years in the planning, to eviscerate the party, bury the left and rebuild it as a vote-winning machine. In Starmer he saw the perfect vessel for his vision: a man with no political identity but burning with ambition and a single all-consuming principle: to win.

Drawing on unrivalled access throughout the party and extensive leaks of internal party documents and WhatsApp messages, Get In shows how together they betrayed and marginalised Corbyn and his followers, then forged a path in which promises, and at times principles, were readily discarded in pursuit of power. From the near-fatal experience of Beergate to the furore over Israel and Gaza and Labour’s chaotic entry into government under Sue Gray, we are in the room as colleagues considered Starmer's future, as Angela Rayner fought back against demotion and struggled to prove herself in the eyes of the British establishment, and as the leader’s inner circle repeatedly crushed their opponents inside and outside of the party.

Richly peopled with the major figures of Labour present and past, as well as those who were pulling the strings of power out of sight, this is the coming-of-age story of Britain's government and a parable for the politics of our times: in an era in which faith in politics has plummeted, this is how to game your way to the ultimate prize. But what on earth do you do when you get there?

'The book about Keir Starmer we have all been waiting for. It is impossible to fully understand this government unless you read it' TIM SHIPMAN

‘Fast-paced . . . cutting one-liners . . . it reads as if the authors were alongside McSweeney and Starmer’ Jason Cowley, Sunday Times

'Extraordinarily detailed and sometimes bloodstained' Tom Baldwin, Guardian

© Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Reseñas de la Crítica

Gripping, exhaustively researched and fast-paced . . . cutting one-liners . . . nuanced character studies . . . scenes are recreated novelistically . . . it reads as if the authors were alongside McSweeney and Starmer as they grappled with multiple crises (Jason Cowley)

The compelling story of how one intensely motivated man grabbed control of a broken party, eviscerated its left and ruthlessly reforged Labour into a power-hungry machine . . . extremely well-sourced . . . dramatic detail . . . a rattling tale terrifically well told (Andrew Rawnsley)

Fascinating . . . devastating . . . full of lively stories . . . this is certainly a book you need to read to understand this government (Andrew Marr)

Unsparing . . . Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund’s brilliant new history of Labour’s path back to power . . . [contains] so many golden nuggets . . . on almost every page . . . it gives you a depth and richness to understanding the tensions within the Starmer Project (Michael Gove)

Revealing . . . pacy . . . dispassionate but informed . . . a cracking read (Robert Shrimsley)

A remarkable piece of journalism (Rory Stewart)

Impeccably written, impeccably researched, impeccably sourced (Lewis Goodall)

There are revelations on virtually every page of this addictive and compelling book... Maguire and Pogrund are impressive political journalists' (Steve Richards)

Maguire and Pogrund . . . fish out the juicy niblets and scoops . . . revealing . . . [a] compelling account of what it took for Labour to get back, get in — and what it will require to stay there (Anne McElvoy)

Pogrund and Maguire . . . bring it all to life . . . If you have questions about Starmer’s budding reign . . . expect many of them to be answered (Kara Kennedy)

The definitive record of the emergence of “Blue Labour” in government

If one follows Westminster politics & media then the book speaks for itself; what is transformative about the record, Morgan McSweeney’s days of privacy in the shadows of No. 10 & Labour HQ are over.