Tom McTague Longlist Interview
19 September 2025
Between The Waves
The Hidden History of a Very British Revolution 1945-2016
Tom McTague
In a story of vaulting ambition and underhand politics, of nation, identity and belief, acclaimed political writer Tom McTague chronicles the battle of ideas, events and personalities that first took the country into the Common Market in 1973, only to take it out of the European Union in an explosive referendum a little over forty years later.
Drawing on unpublished sources and exclusive interviews, McTague unearths the roots of ideological conflict that raged between the leading politicians of the twentieth century as they fought for the future of Europe.
A riveting story of the clashing ideals that have pulled at Britain’s public imagination for more than seven decades, Between the Waves raises that most elemental of questions: who are we?
- Published by:
- Picador, Pan Macmillan
What the judges said“A gripping exploration of Euroscepticism in Britain, McTague’s book stands out for its balanced, multifaceted approach to a politically charged subject. Often challenging the myths and narratives on both sides of the argument, it reveals various characters in history that have unexpectedly come to shape such a huge, part of contemporary political discussion in the UK.”
About the author
Tom McTague is the Editor-in-Chief of The New Statesman. He has previously held positions as Political Editor at UnHerd and The Independent on Sunday, staff writer at The Atlantic and Chief UK Correspondent at POLITICO. He has been highly commended at the British Press Awards and co-anchored the geopolitical history podcast These Times. He is co-author of Betting the House, named by The Times as a 2017 Political Book of the Year. Between the Waves is his first work of history.