Steve Richards will be the guest speaker at the Guernsey Literary Festival’s Business Breakfast

Political columnist, journalist and presenter Steve Richards has for years had a close-up view of leadership at the top levels of British government. And now, at a time of unprecedented political upheaval, his new book The Prime Ministers explains who leads the UK and why.

Steve Richards will be the guest speaker at the Guernsey Literary Festival’s Business Breakfast on Friday 1 May. The book covers the prime ministers from Wilson to May and he brings to life the men and women who have defined the UK’s role in the modern world, vividly outlining their successes and failures - and what made each of them special.

At the Business Breakfast, which is sponsored by Butterfield and will be opened by Guernsey’s President of the Policy & Resources Committee, Deputy Gavin St Pier, Richards will also probably be able to bring his knowledge and observation to bear on the most recent holder of the UK’s top political post, Boris Johnson.

His book, subtitled A Study in Leadership and praised as ‘A fascinating read’ by John Humphrys, touches on the controversial events of recent times, from the miners’ strike to the Falklands War and Iraq to Brexit. The Prime Ministers is an exploration of the essential qualities of leadership and is based on unprecedented access and in-depth interviews, as well as more than twenty years reporting from Westminster. Richards sheds new light on the titanic challenges of the highest office in the land.

Steve Richards regularly presents The Week in Westminster on BBC Radio 4 and has presented BBC radio series on Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Theresa May. He also presented the BBC TV programmes Leadership Reflections: The Modern Prime Ministers and Reflections: The Prime Ministers We Never Had. He has written for several national newspapers including the Guardian, the Independent and the Financial Times. He also presents a popular political one man show each year at the Edinburgh Festival and across the UK.

Richard Saunders Managing Director CI and UK of event sponsors Butterfield Bank (Guernsey) Limited, said: “Butterfield is proud to continue its relationship with the Guernsey Literary Festival. I am confident that Steve Richards will provide a fascinating talk on the lessons of leadership whilst providing surprising insight into how our modern Prime Ministers fare.”

The event takes place at the OGH on Friday 1st May from 08:00-09:30am, and there will be a question and answer session at the end of the talk. Individual tickets are priced at £25 and tables of 10 are available to book at £250. Continental breakfast and a copy of The Prime Ministers are included in the ticket price. The Guernsey Literary Festival runs from 29 April to 3 May. Tickets will be available from 5th February (for festival members) and 10th February (for the general public) on www.guernseyliteraryfestival.com.