That’s
the problem with research. It throws up complications. Neither the man nor the
parliamentary constituency exist, but I write political thrillers set in Westminster
and like to make sure there are no unfortunate coincidences. No accidental
similarities of name that might set tongues wagging and confuse fiction with fact.
Particularly since corruption and the choice between right and wrong are major
themes of my Kanha and Colbey series of political thrillers.
As
I was writing Dirty Geese, the first in the series, I was at the same time digging
into MPs connected to scandal. Firstly, to ping out ideas for plot twists for
that book and Palisade, the next in the series. But also, to be sure I didn’t
use names for my two MP protagonists that were similar to those of anyone who
really existed, particularly if linked to disgraceful goings-on or – as it
tends to be called when connected to our politicians – sleaze.
Before
I turned to writing, I worked for many years in regulatory affairs, which often
involved lobbying MPs, ministers, and civil servants. During that time, I
visited both the Houses of Parliament and the government departments of
Whitehall on a regular basis, and even No 10 on occasion. It didn’t matter how
many times I went, I still felt it an honour to be there; to stand, for example,
in central lobby, an octagonal room at the centre of the Houses of Parliament
and the beating heart of Westminster. Anyone can meet or lobby an MP in this
room. It sits at a crossroads, one corridor leading off it to the Lords and another,
on the other side, to the Commons. It is a place where members of both sides of
the commons and members of both houses meet and mingle, and where the lobby
press can interview ministers and backbenchers alike.
From
my time visiting Westminster, I had a good grounding on the culture there and
of the differing characters of MPs, of ministers and civil servants, but I’m
one of those writers who like to be thorough when it comes to research, so I
dug on in.
Affairs,
theft, bribery, blackmail and sexual harassment: that was just for starters.
Call girls, rent boys, aggressive pimps who call late at night, inappropriate
content on computers, watching pornography at work, misrepresentation of educations
and prior careers, drugs in the workplace, drugs outside of the workplace, vendettas,
violence, and fraud.
It
seemed that if there was a list of things that MPs shouldn’t be doing, every
single item on it had been covered off in some form or other, at some time
other.
It
didn’t take too long to discover that the name I had chosen for one of my protagonists
bore a resemblance to that of a real-life MP connected to one of the more
salacious events in my research notes. I won’t say which one. Just a single
letter differentiated their surnames. Annoying. The name of my male protagonist
had to change. I picked another, and as my research continued, found the exact same
thing happened again. Frustrating.
The
name of a protagonist is an important cornerstone of any book and as I
floundered about, my male protagonist was nameless while that first book, Dirty
Geese was written. Then, at the last minute, when the manuscript was due in to my
editor, I saw a name on a grave in a little churchyard on the south coast. ’Colbey.’
It was perfect. An honourable sounding name for an honourable MP, and as far as
I knew – or to put it more accurately as far as google was aware – there had
not been a British MP with that name since Thomas Colby died in 1588, and his
version of the name had a different spelling. The given name of Harry came
easily after that.
Harry
Colbey, a truly honourable member of parliament. A rare and fine thing.
By
the time I came to write Palisade, Harry Colbey felt as real as any of the MPs
I met with in my time lobbying or in my subsequent research. He was an honest
man, a family man, his kids grown up and just recently flown the nest. He had
disappointed his wife with his choice of career, leaving his relatively well-paid
position at a bank to stand for parliament.
His
plan had been to serve his constituents well and represent their interests in
the House of Commons to the best of his ability. He had had a brief moment of political
stardom, promoted to a junior minister early on, but he wouldn’t do what they
told him. He wouldn’t compromise his morals to toe the party line, so he had
been kicked back to the backbenches.
There
he disappeared from view, working quietly and tirelessly on behalf of his
constituents, all ambition for advancement forgotten, much to his wife’s
embarrassment and shame. But when Colbey uncovers a corrupt plot between senior
ministers and a big tech organisation, he feels he must abandon his hopes of a
quiet slide towards retirement and instead stand up and fight for what he
believes in, no matter the cost.
Both
Palisade, and its predecessor, Dirty Geese, are thrillers that look at corrupt links
between politicians and big tech organisations, particularly those who now have
advanced AI capabilities at their fingertips. They can be read standalone, or
picked up in any order, as each book looks at different aspect of the same
conspiracy – although chronologically, Dirty Geese comes first.
I
tried hard to make sure that the politics within them is reflective of the way
our parliamentary processes really work, or to be more accurate, on occasion don’t
work. But both Dirty Geese and Palisade are crime thrillers at heart and they
each start with a murder. They both involve jeopardy, deceit, international
conspiracy, corruption and a whole catalogue of twists and turns. And they each
turn on the hope that there is at least one MP out there who will do what needs
to be done, who will stand up and say what needs to be said, and that is the
honourable Harry Colbey.
When
opposition Chief Whip Esme Kanha is handed a secret dossier containing evidence
of government corruption, she suspects its original owner, a top journalist,
was murdered for gathering it. Despite the danger, she feels she must
investigate. Meanwhile, lowly backbencher Harry Colbey is working his own
leads. A known campaigner against big tech, he is often sent data from
anonymous sources and this time round he has something truly alarming. But both
Colbey and Kanha must tread carefully in a world dominated by AI, where 'what
can see watches, what can hear listens, and what can be followed is tracked'. As
Kanha and Colbey again join forces, they are locked into a deadly race against
political corruption, no matter what the cost. But when an old enemy returns,
it may already be too la
Palisade
by Lou Gilmond is published on 21st November and is available to buy in
bookshops now.
More
information about Lou Gilmond can be found on her website. You can also find her on Instagram
@lougilmond
