Get In

Summary

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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?

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