One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up: A Memoir of Growing Up and Getting On

Product Information

For a politician to have such an extraordinary story to tell is rare. For that politician to be able to tell it with such eloquence and benevolence is rarer still. This book is a triumph.' --- Alan Johnson Speaking to Graham Norton about his memoir, the 40-year-old reflected: “Without a great state education, I always joke I might have ended up in prison like my granddad rather than Parliament. But on the other hand, it’s also transfixing, albeit in a way I struggle fully to explain. Streeting’s rise from poverty in the East End of London to the Palace of Westminster via Cambridge University is amazingly inspiriting – even now, he’s only 40 – and there’s something so unaffected about the way he describes it, details chosen for no more writerly reason than because he remembers them: the Wall’s coleslaw and He-Man jellies he enjoyed as a treat as a boy; the skate he favoured whenever his grandfather took him down the chippy. He has no discernible self-pity and seems never to judge anyone, not even those who (the reader may think) at times let him down very badly. Wes Streeting might have ended up in prison rather than in parliament. His maternal grandfather Bill, an unsuccessful armed robber, spent time behind bars, as did his grandmother, who was also a political campaigner.

Wes Streeting knows it was the help and inspiration he received from the great characters that surrounded him, especially his paternal grandfather (also called Bill), that ultimately set him on the way to Cambridge and then Parliament. He knew he could draw on the strengths in childhood to eventually come out, and to go on and face his now successful struggle with kidney cancer. Brought up on a Stepney council estate, the young Streeting saw his teenage parents struggle to provide for him. In One Boy, Two Bills & A Fry Up he brings to life the poverty, humiliation and incredible struggle for them choosing whether to feed the meter and heat the flat, put carpet on the floor, or food on the table. Wes Streeting knows it was the help and inspiration he received from the great characters that surrounded him, especially his paternal grandfather (also called Bill), that ultimately set him on the way to Cambridge and then Parliament. Money Matters Neurodiversity Preparing for University - Subject Reading Lists Reading For Pleasure Stationery The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our Almost two-thirds of this book is committed to Streeting’s early years in a loving if chaotic family. By comparing the titular Bills, not pieces of legislation but Wes’s two grandfathers – one a law-abiding Conservative voter, and one a jailbird – we’re given a window into two approaches often found in working-class families in the 1980s. Perhaps some of Streeting’s contemporary Labour centrism comes from this tension: being constantly pulled between the half of the family who wanted to escape to suburban home ownership, and the other half of his Stepney roots who were dedicated to maintaining a community in the inner city.

Confirm your age

Decrease quantity for One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up Increase quantity for One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up

Wes Streeting joined The Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose to talk about the importance of state education and his new book.

Politicos sells political ephemera, gifts, memorabilia and books. It is operated and curated by LBC radio presenter and political commentator Iain Dale. A] compelling story of overcoming adversity… Unexpectedly fascinating… amazingly inspiriting…’— The Observer For a politician to have such an extraordinary story to tell is rare. For that politician to be able to tell it with such eloquence and benevolence is rarer still. This book is a triumph.’ — Alan Johnson

His teenage parents struggled to provide for him and regularly had to decide whether to heat the flat or put food on the table. Takes approximately 1-3 working days to arrive, (but can take longer during busy periods like bank holidays or Pride Month)For a politician to have such an extraordinary story to tell is rare. For that politician to be able to tell it with such eloquence and benevolence is rarer still. This book is a triumph.' In One Boy, Two Bills & A Fry Up he brings to life the poverty, humiliation and incredible struggle for them choosing whether to feed the meter and heat the flat, put carpet on the floor, or food on the table. Wes Streeting knows it was the help and inspiration he received from the great characters that surrounded him, especially his paternal grandfather (also called Bill), that ultimately set him on the way to Cambridge and then Parliament. He knew he could draw on the strengths in childhood to eventually come out, and to go on and face his now successful struggle with kidney cancer. This honest, uplifting, affectionate memoir is a tribute to the love and support which set him on his way out of poverty, and informs everything about Wes Streeting's mission now in politics. Streeting was diagnosed at the age of 38 in May 2021, and just two months later, he was declared cancer-free after the removal of one of his kidneys.

Brought up on a Stepney council estate, the young Streeting saw his teenage parents struggle to provide for him. In One Boy, Two Bills & A Fry Up he brings to life the poverty, humiliation and incredible struggle for them choosing whether to feed the meter and heat the flat, put carpet on the floor, or food on the table. This honest, uplifting, affectionate memoir is a tribute to the love and support which set him on his way out of poverty, and informs everything about Wes Streeting’s mission now in politics. He will be in conversation with Professor Pam Cox. Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, CO4 3SQ Kidney cancer is most common in people over 60 and its severity depends on where it is, how big it is, if it has spread, and your general health. Although he's no longer with us and didn't live to see me elected to Parliament, I can almost hear him in my head saying, 'Yeah, but you work with more crooks than I did in Parliament',” he joked.He was very cynical about politics and politicians,” Streeting added. “I mean, that's how bad politics has fallen by the way, even armed robbers look down their noses at us.” Brought up on a Stepney council estate, the young Streeting saw his teenage parents struggle to provide for him. In One Boy, Two Bills & A Fry Up he brings to life the poverty, humiliation and incredible struggle for them choosing whether to feed the meter and heat the flat, put carpet on the floor, or food on the table. This honest, uplifting, affectionate memoir is a tribute to the love and support which set him on his way out of poverty, and informs everything about Wes Streeting’s mission now in politics. Labour MP Wes Streeting has just published his first book, One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up, in which he recalls how he escaped poverty after growing up on a council estate in East London. Wes Streeting knows it was the help and inspiration he received from the great characters that surrounded him, especially his paternal grandfather (also called Bill), that ultimately set him on the way to Cambridge and then Parliament. He knew he could draw on the strengths in childhood to eventually come out, and to go on and face his now successful struggle with kidney cancer.