A book written by MP Gavin Barwell about his "physically and psychologically gruelling" campaign for re-election in Croydon Central will be published next month.
"How to Win a Marginal Seat: My Year Fighting For My Political Life" will give readers a first-hand account of the Conservative MP's close-fought battle with Labour challenger Sarah Jones at last May’s general election - a contest he won by just 165 votes.
The book's publishers have promised "unparalleled insight into what it’s like to be an MP defending an ultra-marginal seat", reliving a campaign that saw Mr Barwell's parliamentary majority slashed by more than 2,800 votes.
The Croydon Guardian first reported Mr Barwell's foray into the world of political memoir in November, when the MP was still looking for a publisher for the book.
"How to Win a Marginal Seat..." is being put out by Biteback, which describes itself as "Britain’s leading publisher of political and current affairs titles”.
A description of the book on the publisher’s website reads: "During the 2015 general election, the contest in Gavin Barwell’s constituency of Croydon Central was by any measure – the amount of money spent, the frequency of visits by ministers, the volume of literature delivered or the number of political activists pounding the streets – one of the most intensive constituency campaigns this country has ever seen.
"At the end of it, after an experience both physically and psychologically gruelling, Gavin had clung on by the skin of his teeth, and had a story well worth telling.”
That story is previewed in an intriguing list of words on the book’s cover, including phrases like “guinea pig”, “hell yes”, and “money, money, money”.
The cover also features an endorsement from Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who said of the book: “To win Croydon is to win Britain today - and Gavin Barwell shows how it can be done”.
But Mr Barwell’s defeated election opponent was less impressed to hear about his literary efforts.
Speaking in November, Mrs Jones said she was "surprised he is wasting time on vanity projects,” adding: "I probably won't be rushing out to read it.”
"How to Win a Marginal Seat: My Year Fighting For My Political Life” will be published by Biteback on March 17.
Got a story? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6388 or email daniel.omahony@newsquest.co.uk
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