Former Buckingham academic’s new book reveals chaos of Boris Johnson’s time at No 10

A new book by the University of Buckingham’s former vice-chancellor lifts the lid on the chaos of Boris Johnson’s time as Prime Minister.

The biography, Johnson at 10, has been co-authored by Sir Anthony Seldon and University of Buckingham politics alumnus Raymond Newell.

The book chronicles the breakdown of the relationship between the then Prime Minister and his chief aide, Dominic Cummings, after the 2019 general election, with more than 150 aides and allies telling how the pair’s alliance collapsed in resentment and recrimination.

In the book, extracts from which have been serialised in The Times and Sunday Times, Sir Anthony quotes Michael Gove as saying: “He started to resent the fact that Dom would treat him, if not like Jeeves and Wooster, then like the Lord Protector with a young and inexperienced king.”

It also describes details of the power struggle between Boris Johnson’s future wife, Carrie Symonds, and Cummings for the ear of the PM as he played them off against each other, resulting in horse-trading that saw Cummings force the resignation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sajid Javid, and Symonds advising that her former boss, John Wittingdale, be offered a ministerial post at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Sir Anthony told the Bucks Herald: “It was the most chaotic government under Boris Johnson, because of his leadership, for over 100 years. At a time when Britain needed calm, confident leadership with a proper plan to gain the benefits of Brexit, and to steer Britain through Covid and the cost of living crisis, it had chaotic leadership.

"It was a shame for the country and for Boris Johnson himself, who had many of the attributes of being a great prime minister, but not the execution.”

Sir Anthony, who led the University of Buckingham as vice-chancellor for five years, is the author or editor of over 40 books on contemporary history, politics and education, and was the co-founder and first director of the Centre for Contemporary British History.

Raymond Newell previously co-authored the biography May at 10 with Sir Anthony in 2019. Johnson at 10 is published on May 4 by Atlantic Books.