The Abuse of Power: Confronting Injustice in Public Life by Theresa May

REVIEWER: Ali Hull

BOOK: The Abuse of Power: Confronting Injustice in Public Life

(Headline, 2023) 352pp, hardback, £25   

Theresa May was Home Secretary for six years, Prime Minister for three, and has only just stepped down as a Member of Parliament. As a former Prime Minister, it might have been expected that she would write her memoirs, as most do – but instead of detailing what she did in power, she looks instead at power itself – and how it is misused. Her own experiences do come in – both those for which she freely apologises and also some of the battles she had in office, particularly on Brexit. But none of these are the focus of the book. What she looks at most closely is the many organisations that have, over the years, failed those they were meant to serve. 

The book is divided into three main parts, and starts with the abuse of power in politics. However, this is not the strongest part, not least because, having looked at the abuse of staff in Westminster, where individuals have suffered bullying and worse – she then turns to Brexit, where it might be argued that MPs did not use their power wisely, but it is not ‘abuse’ in quite the same way – and then social media, which doesn’t seem to fit a section on politics. However, she gets into her stride in the section on social justice, looking at Hillsborough, Grenfell, Stop and Search and the modern slave trade, amongst other things. In each case, she stresses that those who had the power to do the right thing to help others, chose instead to protect themselves or the institution to which they belonged. The Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England both come in for criticism in the chapter on the sexual abuse of children. Neither the Post Office Scandal nor the blood contamination scandal are covered, but they would have fitted in. And then the book turns to the abuse of power internationally, again dealing with issues with which she was involved in some way.

The book constantly sums up her reason for being in politics: to serve others. It is a golden thread that runs through the Rory Stewart book as well. It also gives a good insight into a leader who was not easy to know when in office.

Reviewer: Ali Hull
Ali Hull is Book Editor for Preach magazine. Fascinated by politics, she is also a former editor of the Christian Democrat newspaper.