Whips

A SUNDAY TIMES POLITICS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

A TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

'It's so believable... This is the perfect summer book' Lorraine Kelly, on ITV

'50 Shades of Grey meets Prime Minister's Questions' Anita Rani on Woman's Hour, Radio 4

'Irresistible' Mail on Sunday

Westminster in the 2020s. In the SW1 bubble, politics moves fast, schemes are hatched and foiled - through both accident and conspiracy - within hours, and sex and power preside.

When Bobby Cliveden decides to campaign against the closure of her local mental health unit, she scarcely thought it would take her straight to the heart of the UK's bustling political centre. She heads to London to work for her local MP, the ambitious Simon Daly, and moves in with her two old university friends, Jess, a new lobby journalist, and Eva, a junior Downing Street adviser. The three of them quickly become wrapped up in the political circus of glamorous parties, insufferable bosses and demanding workloads - and the desire to win. Beneath the headline-grabbing battle of a male-dominated leadership contest, they discover the secret, soft-skilled machinery behind so much political change at the very highest level of government: women.

Riotous and all too believable, Whips is a timely satire on politics and Party people. Watson takes us behind the doors of Number 10 and delivers a gripping tale of modern government, filled with intrigue and scandal. Whips delivers on every promise.

Everything in here is real... a Jilly Cooper-style canter around that Westminster arena Sasha Swire, New Statesman
Whips is undoubtedly a page turner, but at the heart of it is also a genuinely heartwarming story of female friendship and the power of politics to do good, believe it or not. Whips revels in its own ridiculousness and is a riot because of it City AM
Whips joins the ageless genre of books about the dark heart of politics Financial Times
A riot! A delicious mix of the high farce and low cunning of the political world. Ridiculous, revealing and impossible to put down Laura Kuenssberg
A whip smart, funny and completely absorbing book Reader review
Explosive debut novel... very addictive Reader review
I found Whips so delightful... it is a joy to read. More than that, it is fun... The author, it is abundantly clear, is having a wonderful time. And as a result so does the reader.... the true love story is female friendship... I was more struck by how accurately it depicts the mild horror of being in one's early twenties... As I read the final page, I found myself welling up. I didn't know what to expect from Whips. I certainly wasn't expecting that Charlotte Ivers, The Sunday Times
[Watson] is a sprightly storyteller, and, if Westminster-watchers want some light reading for the beach, they need look no further Max Davidson, The Mail on Sunday
A tale of modern government, sex and scandal... very funny indeed Naga Munchetty, on 5Live
The red-hot political bonkbuster... a send-up of the people who run the country Susie Goldsbrough, The Times
Hilariously sexy satirical novel Emily Sheffield, Evening Standard
Filled with sex and political scandals Prospect Magazine
A fun and scandalous romp of a read Reader review
Sensational... Think Jilly Cooper at her best meets West Wing meets Fifty Shades of Grey; it's utterly addictive, scandalous, and oh so shocking Reader review
Whips is irresistible... a warm-hearted romp Richard Godwin, Mail on Sunday
Part House of Cards-style thriller, part Jackie Collins-style bonkbuster... Whips is a fast-paced, darkly comic insider's insight into how our political system works (or doesn't) Michael Deacon, The Telegraph
It's a riotous and raunchy romp of a book that will probably confirm a lot of what you already think goes on at the heart of Government Lindsay Frankel, YOU Magazine
Cleo Watson has produced a humdinger of a first novel, and the sound of scores being settled makes a wonderful backdrop to a rollicking read Lord Vaizey, The House Magazine

Cleo Watson has worked in politics and campaigning of one kind or another for over a decade. She worked on President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012, the 2017 and 2019 UK General Elections and the Vote Leave campaign in the 2016 EU Referendum. In Government, she served in 10 Downing Street as Theresa May's Political Adviser then Boris Johnson's co-Deputy Chief of Staff. She has had a front row seat - and, occasionally, one at the table - for some of the most decisive moments in British politics of the last few years. Whips is her first novel.

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