Over the course of a decade in politics Rory Stewart saw how power really works and what forces drive our communities apart. He was a backbench MP, held several ministerial positions, and stood for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise. Now, well away from the political arena, he regularly shares his insights into current affairs and global politics as co-host of the UK’s leading political podcast, The Rest Is Politics. On Monday October 27, he will come to Intelligence Squared to discuss the state of Britain and the world today. He will draw from his new book Middleland: Dispatches from the Borders to discuss his decade as MP of one of Britain’s most rural constituencies, Penrith and The Border. And he will argue that to truly create a better future for all we must understand the tensions that exist between rural and urban, between farming and the natural world, between the need to preserve and to grow, and between local and national politics. Bridges must – and can – be built, he will argue. Join us live and ask your questions in the audience Q&A.