The Prime Ministers We Never Had by Steve Richards follows his previous book on The Prime Ministers we have had from Harold Wilson to Theresa May. Richards only counts those who had at least one genuine opportunity to become Prime Minister either through a leadership contest or general election. The 11 politicians who meet this criteria in modern times are Rab Butler, Roy Jenkins. Barbara Castle, Denis Healey, Neil Kinnock, Michael Heseltine, Michael Portillo, Ken Clarke, Ed and David Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. Richards examines the leadership potential each figure had and why none of them made it to the top job with some excellent comparative analysis. Varying levels of ambition and experience are certainly an issue, but ultimately it is usually timing which proves to be the main factor in why they never became Prime Minister, whether it is being out of step with the public mood or other figures in their party being more dominant at the time. The selection offers a more diverse range of personalities than his previous book, coupled with some truly Shakespearean downfalls. Overall, it’s the ‘what if?’ factor which adds an extra layer of intrigue to these well-written profiles of Prime Ministers we never had.