Taken as Red by Anushka Asthana

£10.99
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
9780008697938
Published:
05 Jun 2025
Format:
Paperback
Number of pages:
320 pages
Dimensions:
198x129x21mm
Weight:
0.270kgs
Author:
How Labour took power and what they're doing with it'Taken As Red stands out for its balance and the depth of its reporting' The Guardian 'Revelatory and insightful.' Tim Shipman

How Labour took power and what they're doing with it

'Taken As Red stands out for its balance and the depth of its reporting' The Guardian

'Revelatory and insightful.' Tim Shipman

In Taken As Red acclaimed political journalist Anushka Asthana takes us behind the scenes in the corridors of power to explain how and why Labour won office, and how their transformative and tumultuous first year in government has unfolded.

Starmer's government swept to power promising transformation - tackling energy reform, housing shortages, and workers' rights. But these ambitions swiftly collided with harsh economic realities, internal party dissent, and an increasingly polarized political climate. Number 10's attempts to maintain public trust while navigating a series of global crises have been under the microscope from day one.

Providing an unprecedented insider's perspective on the inner workings of the government, Asthana tracks the origins of Starmerism, and its key architect Morgan McSweeney, back to the mid-noughties to show how the Prime Minister's approach to campaigning and to governing was arrived at over many years of careful calibration and ruthless decision-making.

With exclusive insights from the key players, Asthana unpacks the pivotal decisions, strained personal relationships and unexpected headwinds that have defined Labour in government. From the battle bus to Cabinet table, Asthana analyses just who wields power in the corridors of Downing Street, and what to expect in the years ahead.

Lively, analytical and compelling, Taken As Red reveals the calculated gambles and innovative strategies at play, and the people behind them. And in doing so, it looks forward as well as back.

About the Author: Anushka Asthana is deputy political editor at ITV News. Previously the Guardian's political editor and host of the Today in Focus podcast, she has also been senior political correspondent at Sky News, and before that chief political correspondent and columnist at The Times. Shortlisted for political journalist of the year by the Press Gazette in 2023, she can be found on X as @AnushkaAsthana.

More Information
Number of pages 320

We will despatch your order as quickly as we can. If, for whatever reason, a product is out of stock we will contact you to discuss the likely delivery time or an alternative product.

  First Item 2 Items & Over
UK £3.75 £5.00
EU £15.00 £30.00
USA & Canada £30.00 £50.00
Rest of the World £45.00 £60.00
Collect in Store free free

Additional Delivery Information (and some really important bits):

UK Delivery

Orders for delivery in the UK are normally despatched by Royal Mail, using the RM 48 Tracked Service with most orders delivered to you within a few days of placing your order with us. For larger parcels, Courier and Signed For delivery services may be used. Signed Books are shipped in our specially made book mailing cartons, with the books themselves wrapped in paper to protect them. Sometimes we may ship your order in several parts, particularly if you have 'Pre-Order' titles in your order or titles which are held in stock with our publishing partners.

The Really Important Bit: Because we use tracked, courier and signed for delivery services, please use an address at which your parcel can be received during the normal working day, for example, you may want to have your order delivered to your work address if you're not at home during the day.

First Item @ £3.75 (sometimes a shipping supplement may be added for particularly heavy books or specific postcodes*)
2 Items & over @ £5.00 in total

Another Really Important Bit: There are a number of Postcodes in the UK for which we will need to charge a shipping supplement, this will be calculated once we know the size and weight of the shipment. For these orders we will contact customers to agree a suitable and economic method of shipping. There may also be additional time required for delivery to some areas of the United Kingdom. Where possible, we will ship book orders (under 2kg) by Royal Mail to all UK postcodes. Large multiple book orders and books over 2kg are often shipped via APC Overnight or similar, regardless of Postcode.

Overseas Delivery

Shipments to EU countries:

First Item @ £15.00 (sometimes a shipping supplement will be added for particularly heavy books)
2 Items & over @ £30.00 in total

A really, really important Brexit bit: From 1st January 2021 shipments to EU addresses may incur additional costs which could be requested by Fed Ex at the time of delivery. These costs may vary from country to country and are not within our control and will be in addition to the costs paid to us for your delivery. If in any doubt, please check with your local Fed Ex office what, if any, additional costs will be applicable to your order - https://www.fedex.com
From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery.

Shipments to the USA & Canada:

First Item @ £30.00
2 Items & over @ £50.00 in total

Shipments to the Rest of the World:

First Item @ £45.00
2 Items & over @ £60.00 in total

All overseas orders are shipped using a 'signed for' courier service - please provide an address at which your parcel can be signed for on receipt. We use the same packaging materials for our overseas deliveries as we do those in the UK. In some cases, particularly large and heavy books, or books being shipped to remote areas, may incur an additional shipping charge - if this is the case with your order, we'll notify you as quickly as possible of these charges and to arrange the additional payment. You can of course cancel your order with an immediate refund should you not wish to accept these additional costs. Shipments to overseas territories may incur additional Duty & Tax costs which could be requested by Fed Ex at the time of delivery. These costs may vary from country to country and are not within our control and will be in addition to the costs paid to us for your delivery. If in any doubt, please check with your local Fed Ex office what, if any, additional Tax & Duty costs will be applicable to your order - https://www.fedex.com

Collect in Person at Coles Books

We're open Monday - Saturday, 9:00am - 5:30pm. If you're collecting your order, please wait until you get the text, phone call or email from us, just to be on the safe side and to ensure we have your order ready for you on arrival (we'll use the contact information provided during checkout). Not everything on our website is available for immediate collection, please do wait for the text, call or email - if time is of the essence, we'd suggest you call us on 01869 320779 and check availability prior to placing your order. You can pick up your order from the till, please bring a copy of your email receipt (electronic or printed is fine).

Coming by Car

If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking!

Where to Find Us

Coles Books
22 Crown Walk
Pioneer Square
Bicester, Oxfordshire
OX26 6HY, United Kingdom

It was the most impressive packaging that I have EVER SEEN!!! The books were in perfect condition!!!!!

Super fast delivery and well packaged. Quality item and service!

Copyright © Coles Books - a Danny Boy Trading Company. All rights reserved.