The Price of a Majority

Daniel RookCentral protagonist; controversial street organiser who becomes leader of the fictional Common Ground movement and ultimately Prime Minister. Quick at reading humiliation, slower at recognising fear he has caused.

Central protagonist; controversial street organiser who becomes leader of the fictional Common Ground movement and ultimately Prime Minister. Quick at reading humiliation, slower at recognising fear he has caused.

Mara EllisonElectoral architect and co-protagonist; the bridge between movement loyalty and parliamentary power. Disciplined, funny in a dry and sometimes cruel way, impatient with symbolic victories.

Electoral architect and co-protagonist; the bridge between movement loyalty and parliamentary power. Disciplined, funny in a dry and sometimes cruel way, impatient with symbolic victories.

Leah MercerInvestigative journalist and co-protagonist; the reader’s route through competing versions of the public record. Patient with documents, less patient with people who take time to trust her.

Investigative journalist and co-protagonist; the reader’s route through competing versions of the public record. Patient with documents, less patient with people who take time to trust her.

Imran QureshiCommunity-level co-protagonist; a Bellwether pharmacist whose practical responsibilities resist every faction’s preferred story. Sociable, stubborn and quietly competitive.

Community-level co-protagonist; a Bellwether pharmacist whose practical responsibilities resist every faction’s preferred story. Sociable, stubborn and quietly competitive.

Owen PikeLongstanding movement supporter; emotional counterweight to the assumption that political loyalty is either stupidity or pure ideological conviction. Generous with labour, possessive of gratitude.

Longstanding movement supporter; emotional counterweight to the assumption that political loyalty is either stupidity or pure ideological conviction. Generous with labour, possessive of gratitude.

Helen SayeSenior civil servant; institutional antagonist when necessary, neither secret ruler nor automatic guardian of virtue. Restrained, perceptive, unusually good at recognising what a minister has not understood.

Senior civil servant; institutional antagonist when necessary, neither secret ruler nor automatic guardian of virtue. Restrained, perceptive, unusually good at recognising what a minister has not understood.

Adrian ValeParliamentary broker and rival antagonist; the respectable gatekeeper who believes he can control the outsider. Charming, observant and capable of real generosity when generosity does not threaten his position.

Parliamentary broker and rival antagonist; the respectable gatekeeper who believes he can control the outsider. Charming, observant and capable of real generosity when generosity does not threaten his position.

Bethan PriceSurvivor-services director and independent moral pressure on government, opposition and movement alike. Practical, impatient with spectacle, unexpectedly playful among people she trusts.

Survivor-services director and independent moral pressure on government, opposition and movement alike. Practical, impatient with spectacle, unexpectedly playful among people she trusts.