Tim Shipman is the political editor of the Sunday Times. He has been a national newspaper journalist since 1997 and in sixteen years writing about politics he has also reported from Westminster for the Daily Mail and the Sunday Express. Tim was Washington correspondent for the Sunday Telegraph during Barack Obama’s historic first election campaign. He has covered four general elections, three presidential elections, two wars and more leadership contests than he can count. He popularized the word ‘omnishambles’ in Westminster long before George Osborne based a budget on the idea. Tim was chairman of the Parliamentary Press Gallery in 2012. He was shortlisted for the Political Journalist of the Year award at the British Press Awards in 2015, 2016, and 2017. He lives in south-east London with his wife and more than two thousand books.
A TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘Out is a magnificent work … pacy and packed with delicious details … Shipman puts you in the room with tremendous detail, with all the horror, swearing and macho loutishness… When Shipman raises his eyes, often in summing up a leader’s time in office, his analysis is sharp and full of insight… For those seeking a moment-by-moment insider history it will not be topped' Financial Times ‘Filled with the same mix of serious analysis, gossip and eye-opening anecdotes as the first three… as he has done throughout the series, he does his best to avoid caricature, explain the tricky trade-offs faced by everyone involved and highlight politicians’ talents as well as their flaws. This is not an easy thing to do when you’re writing about Liz Truss' The Times 'An Iliad of Tory misery, infighting and political failure covering the implosion of the Johnson, Truss and Sunak premierships’ The Times, A Book of the Year 2024 ‘Magisterial… a wild ride through the rapids of Britain's unforgettable, disturbing Brexit years… a lively mix of high politics [and] low gossip’ Evening Standard ‘The definitive blow-by-blow history. I cannot imagine this account ever being superseded in its mastery of political detail. An important and often surprising book, one of lasting significance, and moreover a really good real’ British Journalism Review ‘It is addictive. The detail is jaw dropping and the narrative drive outstanding. These Shipman books are for the ages. Any future historian wanting to understand what happened will need this quartet' Iain Martin, Reaction Life and Times columnist