Losing Political Office

"Losing office can be a traumatic experience. Some struggle to come to terms with it, others find new outlets. This book offers insights from the lived experience of a necessarily brutal aspect of democratic politics." (Prof Paul Burstow PC FRSA, UK) "A thoughtful, sensitive - and long overdue - exploration of what it really feels like to leave political office and why it matters. Letting go of a cherished role and a deeply valued purpose that have been fundamental to one's sense of identity is a transition of enormous significance - and here it is laid bare." (aroness Tessa Jowell, DBE, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood 1992-2015, UK) "Elected politicians get little public sympathy when they lose office or their seats. But the adjustment can be very difficult. Jane Roberts identifies a genuine problem in a sympathetic and perceptive way and offers responses which should not only help those who have lost office but also encourage those taking the risk of standing in the first place." /Peter Riddell, Director, Institute for Government and former chair of the Hansard Society, UK) "Understanding more about the dynamics of losing political office tells us important things about how democracy works or falters. Politicians like us are people and their reactions to losing are varied but very human. Politics is a business the needs to be designed around the realities of flawed human nature and this book provides new insights into the democratic process." (Professor Gerry Stoker, University of Southampton, UK)

Based on in-depth interviews conducted with British politicians, this book analyses the different impacts of leaving political office.

Based on in-depth interviews conducted with British politicians, this book analyses the different impacts of leaving political office. Representative democracy depends on politicians exiting office, and yet while there is considerable interest in who stands for and gains office, there is curiously little discussed about this process. Jane Roberts seeks to address this gap by asking: What is the experience like? What happens to politicians as they make the transition from office? What is the impact on their partners and family? Does it matter to anyone other than those immediately affected? Are there any wider implications for our democratic system? This book will appeal to academics in the fields of leadership, political science, public management and administration and psychology. It will also be of interest to elected politicians in central, devolved and local government (current and former), policy makers and political commentators, and more widely, the interested general reader.