One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up

A Memoir of Growing up and Getting On

By: Wes Streeting

Narrated by: Wes Streeting

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

An inspiring, witty East End growing up memoir by leading Labour MP Wes Streeting, vividly portraying the power of family and education to help him escape poverty and transform his life.

Wes Streeting might have ended up in prison rather than in parliament. His maternal grandfather Bill, an unsuccessful armed robber, spent time behind bars, as did his grandmother, who was also a political campaigner.

Brought up on a Stepney council estate, the young Streeting saw his teenage parents struggle to provide for him. In One Boy, Two Bills & A Fry Up he brings to life the poverty, humiliation and incredible struggle for them choosing whether to feed the meter and heat the flat, put carpet on the floor, or food on the table.

Wes Streeting knows it was the help and inspiration he received from the great characters that surrounded him, especially his paternal grandfather (also called Bill), that ultimately set him on the way to Cambridge and then Parliament. He knew he could draw on the strengths in childhood to eventually come out, and to go on and face his now successful struggle with kidney cancer.

This honest, uplifting, affectionate memoir is a tribute to the love and support which set him on his way out of poverty, and informs everything about Wes Streeting's mission now in politics.

©2023 Wes Streeting (P)2023 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

A Tory father, Labour mother and their son.

At the centre of this story is struggle and toil mixed with overwhelming acts of kindness and generosity.

The most interesting aspect for me was that of Mr Streeting’s parents. Both east Londoners but one with a strong Tory ideology and family tradition, the other certainly more traditional labour. The biography is almost a microcosm for the successes and failings of both value sets and perhaps also a reminder of why it’s good to have both in a healthy society.

The authors tone is generous and balanced throughout - even when tackling some of the harder issues - which I think reflects the best qualities of him as a politician today. He actually does a good job of keeping political pulpit preaching out of the text.

Read it if you want to learn more about who Wes Streeting is.

Read it if you want to learn or be reminded why east Londoners often get referred to as the salt of the earth.

Read it if you want to be reminded of many of new labours failing whilst in government last time around.

Bravo!

Your story brought back so many memories of my growing up in the north of England. From a working class family we were definitely not poor and I never had the struggles you had but experienced family turmoil and the love of animals, music and studying sustained me. I was the first in my family to go to University. Now living in California it's seems many lifetimes ago but your book brought it all zooming back and I shed a lot of tears. Well done! England is lucky to have you!

EXCELLENT—A MUST READ!

I wasn’t able to stop listening once I started this noon. It’s 12:45 pm and I just finished this book. The author not only wrote an excellent book, he provided the best author narration I’ve ever heard.
This book is a MUST READ for all educators!!!
This book provides so much insight into what it’s like to grow up in poverty.