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The Abuse of Power

Confronting Injustice in Public Life

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The Abuse of Power

By: Theresa May
Narrated by: Theresa May
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About this listen

Former Prime Minister Theresa May exposes the abuse of power by public institutions and politicians in a series of riveting first-hand accounts from her time in office.

As Prime Minister for three years and Home Secretary for six years, Theresa May confronted a series of issues in which the abuse of power led to devastating results for individuals and significantly damaged the reputation of, and trust in, public institutions and politicians. From the Hillsborough and Grenfell tragedies, to the Daniel Morgan case and parliamentary scandals, the powerful repeatedly chose to use their power not in the interests of the powerless but to serve themselves or to protect the organisation to which they belonged.

The Abuse of Power is a searing exposé of injustice and an impassioned call to exercise power for the greater good. Drawing on examples from domestic and international affairs she was personally involved in at the highest level, including Stop and Search and the Salisbury Poisonings, the former prime minister argues for a radical rethink in how we approach our politics and public life.

©2023 Theresa May (P)2023 Headline Publishing Group Limited Corruption & Misconduct Europe Politicians Politics & Activism Politics & Government Women in Politics World Thought-Provoking Inspiring

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All stars
Most relevant  
Not what I expected from a politician of her calibre. A catalogue of the “wonderful” things the author had done, some careful repositioning of history and a long list of the failings of others.

Nothing new, all a bit disappointing.

Another abuse of power.

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Theresa May clearly has strong moral values and genuinely sees herself as a servant of the public, in fact when listening to her when Prime minister I wondered why she sounded more left of centre than right. (But I noted that the 'promises' did not appear to be effectively kept). When listening to her when interviewed by Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart on 'Leading' I was surprised and saddened to hear how party conscious, and how truly conservative she was and how disparaging of labour.
I think it was truly a tragedy for the country that her negotiations regarding Brexit were not accepted and do agree that the country lost to others persuing more personal and extreme views.
Theresa May acknowledges that as the daughter of a vicar she learned to modify her behaviour in respect of her position, sadly I fear that this led to her non development of an inspiring and more charismatic side that also seems essential to good leadership. Values trumped fun so by the end of the book I was more bored than inspired, which is sad because the intentions were good, very good.

Informative, didactic, pedestrian.

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Well thought through. Thought provoking. A true account from someone who’s got all the tee shirts of the biggest problem in our society today. Not only are the topics well defined Theresa offers practical and pragmatic solutions.

Unbiased and original thinking.

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Written & read by a very special politian. Wish there were more like her. Total intregraty and full of good old fashion charity. She is sorely missed in government.

Well written - well read.

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A good reminder that public service is not for self but for all. Helpful learning for real examples

Insightful reflections on public service

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Open exposè of living memory incidents and the reason why so many are so disallusioned with polotics today. Far too many enter politics without a thought for service to tge public and to making the UK a better place to live in⁰

Confirmed what I always suspected

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This book certainly gave me added insight in power as it has been exercised and abused. Mrs May really believes and upholds integrity, personal and political. I am impressed and very glad I chose to read/listen to this book.

Clarity of the author’s reasonings

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This is a deeply thoughtful book, full of gripping and concisely-presented accounts of abuses that rocked the UK during the past 20 years or so. The emphasis is on incidents that happened during Theresa May's time in parliament, particularly her years as Home Secretary and Prime Minister. We see the ways public institutions and others handled major abuses. Theresa May’s presentation is excellent. She has a beautiful voice, and her diction and pacing are perfect.

It held my interest to the end

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This book isn't the usual political autobiography. True, it does give Theresa May a platform to talk about her achievements as well as to reflect upon her fall from power. At times the bitterness of her treatment by her colleagues comes across very clearly. However, the case studies she presents are interesting and provide insight into different levels of institutional failure - the police most notably come in for a lot of criticism. Some of these stories are well known, for example, the chapter on Hillsborough didn't add any new insights into the tragedy of this cover-up. And most depressingly they still keep coming, with the Post Office Horizon scandal hitting the headlines as the book went to print (so is not referenced in the book). Theresa May herself comes across as the ultimate Christian Democrat. I get her politics and her views, even if I don't share them. Her criticism of institutions like the Civil Service is therefore not without an underlying political ideology, but also not without foundation. Overall it's an interesting listen, but there are better accounts of some of the case studies she uses and of her struggle with getting her Brexit policy through.

A different take on politics

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Absolutely loved this book I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Politics and Current affairs and the fact that it was written by the former British Prime minister and also read by the author herself made it very interesting and gave you a better perspective about the author as a person and how she thought throughout her life and still does brilliant listen hope she writes more books 📚

The Abuse of Power by Theresa May

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