Code of Conduct

*A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week*<BR>'Carefully observed, rich in detail, imaginative, compassionate and angry. A raw, unexpected portrait of Britain's grandeur, wealth, energy, cruelty and hypocrisy in the age of liberalism' RORY STEWART<BR>'A shocking story of prejudice and injustice, told in meticulous detail' KEIR STARMER<BR><BR>From award-winning historian and Sunday Times bestselling author Chris Bryant MP, James and John tells the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain through the lens of a landmark trial.<BR><BR>They had nothing to expect from the mercy of the crown; their doom was sealed; no plea could be urged in extenuation of their crime, and they well knew that for them there was no hope in this world.<BR><BR>When Charles Dickens wrote these tragic lines he was penning fact, not fiction. He had visited the condemned cells at the infamous prison at Newgate, where seventeen men who had been sentenced to death were awaiting news of their pleas for mercy. Two men stood out: James Pratt and John Smith, who had been convicted of homosexuality. Theirs was 'an unnatural offence', a crime so unmentionable it was never named. That was why they alone despaired and, as the turnkey told Dickens, why they alone were 'dead men'. <BR><BR>The 1830s ushered in great change in Britain. In a few short years the government swept away slavery, rotten boroughs, child labour, bribery and corruption in elections, the ban on trades unions and civil marriage. They also curtailed the 'bloody code' that treated 200 petty crimes as capital offences. Some thought the death penalty itself was wrong. There had not been a hanging at Newgate for two years; hundreds were reprieved. Yet when the King met with his 'hanging' Cabinet, they decided to reprieve all bar James and John. When the two men were led to the gallows, the crowd hissed and shouted. <BR><BR>In this masterful work of history, Chris Bryant delves deep into the public archives, scouring poor law records, workhouse registers, prisoner calendars and private correspondence to recreate the lives of two men whose names are known to history - but whose story has been lost, until now.

THE INSTANT TOP TWO SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERCronyism, nepotism, conflicts of interest, misconduct, lying. Is this the worst parliament in history? Leading MP Chris Bryant tells the inside story of misconduct in parliament, and outlines how we can help solve it.'Takes a bulldozer to the crumbling edifice of parliamentary standards' JAMES O'BRIEN'Absolutely riveting. I read, I blink, I gasp' REVEREND RICHARD COLES'Vital. It should serve as a wake-up call to all of us' ALASTAIR CAMPBELL'A lively, forensic, engrossing, sometimes entertaining, often disturbing and always unflinching interrogation of what's gone wrong with our legislature' ANDREW RAWNSLEY, OBSERVER The extraordinary turmoil we have seen in British politics in the last few years has set records. We have had the fastest turnover of ministers in our history and more MPs suspended from the House than ever. Rules have been flouted repeatedly, sometimes in plain sight. The government seems unable to escape the brush of sleaze. And just when we think it's all going to calm down a bit, another scandal breaks. Having spent years as Chair of the Committees on Standards and Privileges, Chris Bryant has had a front-row seat for the battle over standards in parliament. Cronyism, nepotism, conflicts of interest, misconduct and lying: politicians are engaging in these activities more frequently and more publicly than ever before. The result? The work of honest and accountable MPs is tarnished. Public trust is worn thin. And when nearly two thirds of voters think that MPs are out for themselves, democracy is in trouble. It is time for a better brand of politics. Taking us inside the Pugin-carpeted corridors of Westminster, from the prime minister's office to the Strangers' Bar, Code of Conduct examines how parliament has got into this mess and suggests how it might - at last - get its house in order.