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The <keyword id="2219970" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="World-Book-Night">World Book Night</keyword> (now in its fourth year and coincides with the <keyword id="2219971" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="UNESCO-International-Day-of-the-Book">UNESCO International Day of the Book</keyword>) came and went, but did it impact our life in any way? In the UK, 20 titles were selected and thousands of those <keyword id="5050" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="books">books</keyword> were given away for free on the night of <keyword id="6460904" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="April-23">April 23</keyword> to inspire people who “haven’t yet been turned on” to reading. A quick look at the list had us pleasantly surprised. It included the works of <keyword id="210859" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Agatha-Christie">Agatha Christie</keyword>, <keyword id="17397" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Jeffrey-archer">Jeffrey Archer</keyword>, <keyword id="324611" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="John-Grisham">John Grisham</keyword>, <keyword id="241349" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Roald-Dahl">Roald Dahl</keyword>, <keyword id="1367712" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Andy-McNab">Andy McNab</keyword> and others – mostly popular stuff that may actually drive reluctant readers back to the age-old habit of reading. 
 And that brings another startling fact to the forefront. If reading less is a global malady, men could be suffering more from it than their female counterparts. No, we are not getting gender-biased here. The findings came from a survey commissioned by the <keyword id="2219978" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reading-Agency">Reading Agency</keyword> and conducted by <keyword id="2219982" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="OnePoll">OnePoll</keyword>. According to the report, researchers from OnePoll spoke to 2,000 British men and <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> ahead of the World Book Night and it was found that 75% of the men would watch the big screen version of a story, instead of reading the original book. In fact, 30% of the men said they had not read a book after their school days. 
 But in spite of all the statistics, reading does change one’s life. They say everyone can write at least one classic – their own life story. Surprisingly enough, we have one such book in our April list – the <keyword id="2219985" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Posthumous-collection">posthumous collection</keyword> of <keyword id="642178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Essays">essays</keyword> and <keyword id="851600" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="short-stories">short stories</keyword> by a young <keyword id="2219988" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yale-graduate">Yale graduate</keyword> that has gone viral and read by at least 1.4 million people across 98 countries. That gives us great hope that books (in any format) will never become obsolete. Browse through our list of seven wonder works – analytical, inspirational, <keyword id="820033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="sublime">sublime</keyword>, but essentially a <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> towards a changing world order, a look into the changing times. 
 
Image: Thinkstock/Getty Images

April Read: Try These
7 Books To Usher In A Summer Of Change

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Transposit; RealityEngines.AI; Lucidchart; Coda; Yutong Yuan/Business Insider</div></div></div>Hello!After working at one of the largest tech companies in the world, many Googlers get the itch to leave and start their own companies. Rosalie Chan this week profiled 20 of the hottest enterprise startups of 2019 founded by Xooglers, as for Googlers are known. You can <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/20-enterprise-startups-former-google-employees-2019-6">check that list out right here</a>. And you can find our full list of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-watch-here-are-the-startups-vcs-are-betting-on-in-every-corner-of-tech-2019-4">startups VCs are betting on in every corner of tech here</a>.Elsewhere in the startup world, Shona Ghosh and Charlie Wood published this <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/european-venture-capital-investors-tech-founders-need-to-know-2019-7">list of the 32 star venture capital investors in Europe every tech founder needs to know</a>. And the BI team published a number of VC interviews this week. Here's a selection:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/citi-ventures-vc-need-for-speed-softbank-funding-era-2019-7">This VC says the cut-throat hunt to beat SoftBank to the hottest startups means funds need to be faster than ever</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jurvetson-vc-member-of-elon-musk-spacex-board-asks-1-question-2019-7">A VC on Elon Musk's SpaceX board says founders who can't answer this question might miss out on millions in funding</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-mark-boggett-seraphim-capital-on-100-firms-space-tech-funding-2019-7">Here's why 100 tech firms a month are asking this VC to fund their ventures into space - 'It was a eureka moment for us'</a></li></ul>Business Insider also hosted its first BI Prime webinar this week, with Henry Ward, founder of $1.7 billion startup Carta, talking through the pitch decks that helped him raise almost $450 million. You can watch a replay <a href="https://zoom.us/recording/play/tBjtUORs3I2kDXG2vWknGL25pjBg5yYw-HBqzOMv-R4MdwVxpsXHakNND0FmRsm5?startTime=1562864502000">right here</a>.And you can find our pitch deck library, showcasing early pitchdecks for companies ranging from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-a-13-billion-dollar-startups-first-ever-pitch-deck-2011-9?r=slide-library">AirBnB</a> to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-original-pitch-deck-shows-evolution-ipo-2018-12?r=slide-library">Uber</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-decks-that-helped-hot-startups-raise-millions-2019-4">right here.</a>One final note before I go. If you haven't seen it already, my colleagues at Insider, our lifestyle and general news sister site, hired the <a href="https://www.insider.com/mueller-report-rewritten-trump-russia-mark-bowden-archer-2019-7">author of "Black Hawk Down" and an illustrator from "Archer" to adapt the Mueller report so you'll actually read it</a>. Enjoy!<section>-- Matt</section><h2>Quote of the week</h2>"If you look at the numbers needed to achieve to current valuations, they're absurd. They're staggering." - Leo Kelly, CEO of Verdence Capital, which manages $2 billion for professional athletes and the ultra-wealthy, on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/money-management-advice-strategy-from-leo-kelly-verdence-capital-advisors-2019-7">why he's avoiding unicorn IPOs</a>. <h2>In conversation</h2><ul><li>Akin Oyedele talked to Jean Boivin, the global head of research for the BlackRock Investment Institute, about why the stock market's principal driver just changed, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-stock-market-outlook-midyear-investing-advice-jean-boivin-2019-7">and how investors should adjust to the shift</a>.</li><li>Charlie Wood talked to Manoj Saxena, who was the first general manager of IBM Watson. Saxena, who is now chairman of AI Global, a nonprofit that encourages responsible AI design, said humans <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-ibm-chief-manoj-saxena-issues-ai-warning-2019-7">figuring out AI is like "children playing with bombs."</a></li><li>Ben Pimental talked to Arvind Krishna, an IBM senior vice president who is leading the company's cloud initiatives, about why IBM's $34 billion Red Hat purchase, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-red-hat-34-billion-purchase-biggest-deal-ever-2019-7">gives it an advantage in the "trillion dollar" hybrid cloud market</a>.</li><li>Ashley Rodriguez talked to Laura Evans, who joined Disney last year from The New York Times as senior vice president of data, about how <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-execs-on-espns-streaming-recommendation-engine-algorithms-2019-7">ESPN Plus is helping build a weapon to fight Netflix.</a></li><li>Amanda Perelli talked to Steven Galanis, CEO of Cameo, which lets you buy personalized video messages from celebs, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceo-of-cameo-interview-on-global-expansion-funding-raise-politicians-2019-7">about global expansion plans and trying to get politicians on the platform</a>.</li><li>Emma Court and Lydia Ramsey talked to David Schenkein and Krishna Yeshwant, who lead the life sciences team at GV, formerly Google Ventures, about their plan <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gv-life-sciences-leaders-on-investing-in-pharma-clinical-trials-2019-7">to upend the costly, time-consuming process of making new drugs</a>.</li><li>Lydia also talked to Todd Latz, the CEO of urgent care company GoHealth, who oversees 126 clinics across the country, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gohealth-ceo-todd-latz-future-of-urgent-care-challenges-threats-2019-7">about the four</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gohealth-ceo-todd-latz-future-of-urgent-care-challenges-threats-2019-7"> top threats facing the business</a>.</li><li>Sherin Shibu talked to Mark Hoplamazian, CEO and president of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, about the simple equation <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hyatt-ceo-mark-hoplamazian-equation-for-hiring-management-and-firing-2019-7">that underlies his management, hiring, and firing strategies</a>.</li></ul><h2>Finance and Investing</h2><section><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leon-blacks-foundation-says-epstein-resigned-2019-7">Private-equity guru Leon Black's family foundation is scrambling to distance itself from sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein, but it's raising more questions</a>Apollo Global Management CEO Leon Black and his family foundation are <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-was-director-of-leon-blacks-foundation-for-10-years-2019-7">disputing media reports linking the charity to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein</a>.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-dalio-talks-about-hedge-fund-succession-planning-2019-7">Bridgewater's Ray Dalio struggled with finding his successor. For billionaire hedge funders, it's a growing concern.</a>Hedge funds have long been nearly synonymous with their founders' strategies and personalities, but investors are now looking closely at firms' plans to carry on without their creators at the helm.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-holzhauer-jeopardy-strategy-success-using-new-approach-to-risk-2019-7">He smashed 'Jeopardy!' records on the way to winning $2.5 million. Now champion James Holzhauer reveals to us the secret to his strategy.</a>Taking risks with money is challenging for a lot of people. Betting $10,000 on television would probably be out of the question.</section><h2>Tech, Media, Telecoms</h2><section><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deliveroo-will-shu-profile-amazon-2019-7">The 100-hour weeks, intense culture, and divisive hires that made Deliveroo a $2 billion business with backing from Amazon</a>Food delivery startup Deliveroo is one of the UK's fastest-growing and most promising firms.</section><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cloudera-ceo-resigns-tom-reilly-open-source-red-hat-2019-7">As its CEO prepares to step down, $1.4 billion Cloudera says it will start giving away all its software for free in a big change to its business</a>Cloudera has already seen some big changes this year.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-buys-the-rock-heist-movie-red-notice-details-budget-2019-7">What Netflix buying The Rock's $130 million heist movie, 'Red Notice,' says about its evolving movie strategy</a>Netflix has just grabbed a movie with three of the biggest stars in the world attached to it.<h2>Healthcare, Retail, Transportation</h2><section><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cbd-companies-getting-creative-to-skirt-facebooks-cannabis-ad-ban-2019-7">CBD and hemp startups are using creative loopholes to skirt Facebook's ad ban. Here's how they're doing it.</a>When former journalist James Higdon founded Cornbread Hemp, a Kentucky-based CBD producer, he knew that getting in front of customers was crucial.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/home-depot-executive-home-decor-millennial-strategy-2019-7">Home Depot execs reveal why the retailer is doubling down on home decor, how it built billion-dollar brands, and what it got wrong about millennials</a>In a bid to become a one-stop-shop for customers looking to spruce up their abodes, Home Depot is doubling down on decor.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-lyft-investor-autotech-ventures-wont-touch-scooter-companies-2019-7">An early Lyft backer has invested in self-driving cars, artificial intelligence, robotic farm equipment, and more. Here's why he won't touch scooter startups.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/autotech-ventures">Autotech Ventures</a>, a San Francisco-based firm with a portfolio valued at nearly $200 million, has made investments in almost every segment of the red-hot transportation space.</section>Get the latest Google stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/GOOG-Quote"> here.</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/giant-squid-emerges-deep-sea-rare-sighting-japan-toyama-bay-2015-12">Watch a diver swim right next to a 12-foot giant squid in Japan</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Hot startups from former Googlers, Jeffrey Epstein's Wall Street connections, and CBD loopholes

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="12086224" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="jeremy-renner" source="Orion">Jeremy Renner</keyword> told Men's Health that pre-fame, he lived on a tight budget in a studio apartment.</li><li>The Marvel star said that while living there, he sometimes had a monthly food budget of $10.</li></ul><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/marvel">Marvel</a> star <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/jeremy-renner">Jeremy Renner</a> said that pre-fame, he sometimes had a monthly food budget of $10 and ate instant ramen. "I had no electricity, no gas, no hot water," Renner told <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a38188420/jeremy-renner-mayor-of-kingstown-hawkeye-interview/">Men's Health</a> of living in a studio apartment in Hollywood for five-and-a-half years before his acting career took off. "So I learned to play guitar. I lit candles. I made a vibe out of it"The actor said that he made the most of his living situation because "if I sat and cried about it, which I probably did once or twice, it doesn't really move the needle. Changing and shifting your perspective — that's the only thing we have control of in perpetuity."Renner's interviewer, Alex Bhattacharji, wrote in his cover story that "at times, Renner says, his entire monthly food budget was $10. He'd live on a case of Top Ramen and maybe treat himself when McDonald's had its two-burgers-for-25-cents special.""I always thought, At least I'm doing a job that I love," the star said. "I'm glad I'm not doing a job just for a paycheck. That'd be fucking miserable. And most people are."<div type="image" title="Jeremy Renner holding a bow and arrow on &quot;Hawkeye.&quot;" height="1494" width="1992" msid="87809081" hostid="261"></div>Renner's <a href="https://www.insider.com/avengers-infinity-war-cast-before-they-were-famous-2018-4">first-ever professional acting role</a> was in the 1995 movie "Senior Trip," in which he played a slacker.He went on to appear on shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Angel." Renner also portrayed real-life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the 2002 movie "Dahmer."But it was his role as Staff Sergeant William James in 2008's "The Hurt Locker" that changed his career trajectory.Renner earned an Oscar nomination and a SAG Award nomination for the part. His role in Ben Affleck's 2010 film "The Town" further added to his growing popularity, and he landed additional Academy Award and SAG nominations, plus a Golden Globe nod. Renner made his Marvel debut as Clint Barton/Hawkeye in 2011's "Thor."He reprised the role for "The Avengers," "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/avengers-age-of-ultron">Avengers: Age of Ultron</a>," "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/captain-america-civil-war">Captain America: Civil War</a>," and "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/avengers-endgame">Avengers: Endgame</a>."Renner will return as the archer for the upcoming standalone Disney+ series "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/hawkeye">Hawkeye</a>," which debuts on the streamer on Wednesday.

Jeremy Renner says that he sometimes had a monthly food budget of $10 and lived off of instant ramen before making it big in Hollywood

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Thomson ReutersDemocratic U.S. presidential candidate Sanders listens to the first question at a town hall event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania</div></div></div>US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced on Friday he had accepted an invitation to the Vatican, saying his views on fighting income inequality were similar to those of Pope Francis."I am a big, big fan of the pope," Sanders said in an interview on MSNBC. "He's trying to inject this sense of morality into how we do economics ... and we need that absolutely desperately."The Vatican, however, seems to think a little differently about the manner in which the invitation was organized.A senior Vatican official said that Sanders showed "monumental discourtesy," and reached out to obtain the invitation himself, according to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-08/vatican-academy-criticizes-sanders-s-monumental-discourtesy">Bloomberg</a>. "Sanders made the first move, for the obvious reasons," Margaret Archer, president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences which is hosting the conference Sanders is set to speak at, told Bloomberg over the phone. "I think in a sense he may be going for the Catholic vote but this is not the Catholic vote and he should remember that and act accordingly - not that he will."The Sanders campaign said in a statement that he would attend a conference on social, economic and environmental issues during the April 15 visit. Sanders, who has made fighting poverty a central issue of his campaign, said he would talk about how to create a moral economy during his visit.The visit will come four days before the primary election in delegate-rich New York, a state that both Sanders and his rival Democrat Hillary Clinton are viewing as home turf and hoping to win.The announcement of Sanders' trip came as the pope called for a church that was less strict and more compassionate toward "imperfect" Catholics.Sanders said he admires the pope for talking about the "worship of money, the greed that's out there.""There are people who think that Bernie Sanders is radical," Sanders said on MSNBC. "Read what the pope is writing."(Reuters reporting by Doina Chiacu and Megan Cassella; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Bill Trott) <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rising-sea-levels-study-millions-americans-affected-coastal-counties-2016-4">4.2 million Americans could be displaced by rising sea levels this century - see if your county is at risk</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1kMm1sMjE6AUd0dGnGrEB_C8Ni4Y-pH-" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Vatican official criticizes Bernie Sanders' 'monumental discourtesy' after he highlights supposed invitation from Pope Francis

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image">REUTERS/Morris Mac MatzenParticipants lie in the mud to break the world record for total number of 'mud angels' at the "Wattoluempiade," or Mud Olympics, in the northern German city of Brunsbuettel, July 6, 2014. During the event, participants also join in other games including football, handball and volleyball. </div></div></div>Good morning! Here's what you need to know.
There's An Enormous Typhoon Heading For Japan. A "once in a decade" typhoon is barreling toward the country's southern islands. "I can't stress enough how dangerous this typhoon may be when it hits Okinawa," wrote Brigadier General James Hecker on the base's Facebook page on Sunday <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/typhoon-described-as-a-once-in-decades-storm-is-barelling-towards-japan-2014-7#ixzz36mOlqxJM">per Reuters</a>. "This is not just another typhoon." There are no nuclear plants on Okinawa, but there are two on Kyushu island and one on nearby Shikoku island.
Archer Daniels Midland Buys WILD. The Illinois foods giant <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/archer-daniels-midland-to-buy-wild-flavors-in-deal-valued-at-2-3-billion-1404720087?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection">beat out a Japanese competitor with a $2.99 billion offer</a> for the maker of a popular Stevia product and Capri Sun.
Goldman Ratchets Rate Calendar. The investment bank now says the Fed will likely raise rates in Q3 2015 instead of Q1 2016, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-07/treasuries-fall-after-goldman-sachs-brings-forward-fed-forecast.html">after stronger jobs data</a>. Goldman joins JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Capital Economics in <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/monday-scouting-report-july-7-2014-2014-7">raising this warning flag</a>.
Welcome To Q2 Earnings Week. Nothing today, but Alcoa kicks things off tomorrow after the bell. "People said the U.S. earnings would be bad for January-March but in the end the profits were up. I would expect decent results (this time)," Tsuyoshi Shimizu, chief strategist at Mizuho Asset Management, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/07/us-markets-global-idUSKBN0FC0NT20140707">told Reuters</a>.
Repo Alarm. More trades are going uncompleted, causing short-term cash crunches, as repurchase agreement volumes fall to record lows, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-06/bond-anxiety-grows-in-1-6-trillion-repo-market-as-failures-soar.html">Bloomberg says</a>, thanks to intense demand for U.S. notes. Failures to deliver Treasuries have averaged $65.6 billion a week this year, reaching as high as $197.6 billion late last month. Compare that with $51.6 billion in 2013, and $28.8 billion in 2012. "The effect of all the collateral issues we see now is an indication of not so much how things are, but how bad things will be when you really need liquidity," Jeffrey Snider, chief investment strategist at West Palm Beach, Florida-based Alhambra Investment Partners LLC, told Bloomberg. "That's when you get into potentially dire situations."
Oil Rally Fades. Brent was trading as low as $110.59 Monday, nearly 4% lower than mid-June levels, as fears of Iraq outages have been assuaged for now. Meanwhile Libya <a href="http://t.co/B7DG4clNdQ">is set to open new oil terminals. </a>
German Output Drops Again. German production data fell 1.8% in May, the third straight month of declines . "There was a little dent in the second quarter," Jens-Oliver Niklasch, a fixed-income strategist at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg in Stuttgart, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-07/german-industrial-output-falls-in-sign-of-slower-growth.html">told Bloomberg</a>. "But generally speaking, the German economy is in quite good shape and there's no reason for concern as growth rates will remain solid."
Deflation in Sweden? The kroner fell 0.2% after dropping 1.6% last week, giving the sovereign its worst run of the year. The Swedish Central Bank cut rates 5o bps to 0.25% last week as the specter of deflation spooked regulators, <a href="http://on.ft.com/VRM9OY">the FT said</a>. 
Markets. U.S. futures were lower. Stocks in Europe and Asia were both down. 
No Major Economic Data. Hope you had a great 4th.

10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://pictures.reuters.com/">REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett</a>Grant Shapps holds his mobile phone as he walks through the Parliamentary Estate as Britain's re-elected Prime Minister David Cameron names his new cabinet, in central London, Britain, May 11, 2015. </div></div></div>Grant Shapps, the former Chairman of the Conservative Party, resigned from his position as International Development Minister at the weekend after taking the blame for letting the Mark Clarke problem fester within the party too long. Shapps' resignation came quickly because he believes he can regain his career inside the Conservatives at some point in the future.It's a spectacular fall for a man who many people thought would one day <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9962986/Grant-Shapps-Ill-plot-Tory-election-victory-from-the-pub.html">run for the party leadership</a>. Yet it potentially sets the stage for his resurrection. Such a return would not be without precedent. After all, former MP and deputy chairman Jeffrey Archer resurrected his career as a Tory candidate for mayor of London in 1999 after twice resigning, in 1974 and 1986, over scandals connected to him.<h3>A scandal that touches the prime minister</h3>Clarke <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ben-howlett-says-the-tories-swept-bullying-allegation-under-the-carpet-2015-11">was thrown out</a> of the Conservative Party earlier this month following an investigation into allegations that he bullied and blackmailed members of the party, and kept records of their sexual liaisons, before and after the 2015 general election. The investigation into Clarke was triggered by the suicide of young Conservative activist Elliott Johnson <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3259016/Secret-tape-Tatler-Tory-bullying-suicide-victim-Menacing-blackmail-threats-young-activist-kangaroo-court-revenge-adultery-rumours.html">who left a note</a> accusing Clarke of bullying him.Clarke has told Business Insider that he denies accusations of bullying and blackmail.Shapps was co-chairman of the conservative party when RoadTrip 2015, Clarke's organisation which sent busloads of young Tory activist around the country, was made an official part of the Conservative general election campaign.The Mark Clarke story has progressed rapidly over the past few days. Before the weekend, the Conservative party claimed that they <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/ben-howlett-says-the-tories-swept-bullying-allegation-under-the-carpet-2015-11">hadn't received any complaints</a> about Clarke until August of this year, but lots of stories have appeared in the press bringing that claim into question.On Friday evening, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/27/elliott-johnson-young-tory-destroyed-by-party-he-loved-mark-clarke">the Guardian revealed</a> that Shapps had received a letter complaining about Mark Clarke in January of this year. On the same day, <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article4625169.ece">The Times revealed</a> that Shapps' former chief of staff, Paul Abbott, wrote a memo to Shapps and Lord Feldman that detailed multiple complaints about Clarke from party activists. Feldman was co-chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Grant Shapps during the election campaign. According to the Times, the memo was sent just after Shapps and Feldman decided to make Clarke's RoadTrip 2015 into an official part of the general election campaign in June 2014.On Saturday, the Sun <a href="https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/670537930591617024">published extracts</a> of letters from Prime Minister David Cameron to Clarke during 2014 and 2015 that lavished praise on him for his hard work. This was the first time that the scandal had really touched the Prime Minister and it soon became clear that the Conservative Party would need to come up with a response.Journalist Harry Cole of The Sun, who uncovered the letters, <a href="https://twitter.com/MrHarryCole/status/670594368466788352">said that Shapps</a> was key in drafting the letters from the Prime Minister to Clarke and that Cameron was "apoplectic" at being drawn into the story. By Saturday afternoon, Shapps had resigned from his role as international development minister. Here is an extract from his resignation letter:Over the past few weeks - as individual allegations have come to light - I have come to the conclusion that the buck should stop with me. Given the very serious nature of what has subsequently occurred and my role in appointing Mr Clarke, I cannot help but conclude that the only right course of action is for me to step down as a Minister in your government.<h3>"I know you have much more to give in the years ahead."</h3>Cameron responded to Shapps with a letter that showered him with praise. In the extract below, Cameron says "you have more to give in the years ahead." This is likely political code which means there will be an opportunity for Clarke to be promoted again in the future (emphasis added):Above all, you have been a loyal and trusted supporter of mine from the very beginning. I will always remember that. You have made a lasting contribution to the work of the Government, but you have also been a faithful servant of our party, and I know you have much more to give in the years ahead.To understand how Shapps got drawn into the Clarke story and why he was the perfect candidate be the Conservative Party's fall guy, you first need to know a little about his unusual background.<h3>"My name is Grant, I'm from Pinner, and my ambition is to be a Conservative cabinet minister."</h3>Shapps is not your average Conservative politician. For a start, he didn't go university. Instead, he went to Manchester Polytechnic (now Manchester Metropolitan University) where he completed a business and finance diploma.While he didn't go to Oxford or Cambridge university like many of his contemporaries within the Conservative Party, Shapps had political ambitions from an early age. He joined the Jewish youth organisation BBYO (formerly the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization) and rose through its ranks to become its national president. At the age of 13, he is <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19511778">reputed to have introduced himself</a> to a fellow BBYO member with "my name is Grant, I'm from Pinner, and my ambition is to be a Conservative cabinet minister."He first stood for election in 1997 and eventually won a seat in Welwyn Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in 2005. Along the way, he built up a reputation as a skillful campaigner who could connect with ordinary people. Welwyn Hatfield was a Labour seat in 2001, but by 2010 Shapps had taken the seat for the second time in a row with a majority of 17,423. That's a very impressive majority for a swing seat.Shapps became the party's vice-chairman in the same year he became an MP, was appointed as shadow housing minister in 2007, became housing minister as part of the coalition government in 2010 and in 2012 he was made co-chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Lord Feldman. The speed and trajectory of his rise meant that he was on course to become a senior Cabinet Minister.<h3>Clarke is publically denounced by an ex-girlfriend for his "appalling" behaviour</h3>The aim of Shapps' job as co-chairman was simple: to oversee the campaign to win the Conservatives the general election in 2015.Alongside the election strategist Lynton Crosby, he was charged with delivering something called the 40-40 strategy. This was the plan to heavily target the voters in 40 constituencies where the Conservatives had a narrow majority, and 40 constituencies where other parties had a narrow majority. If they could win these 80 seats, the Conservatives would win the election.This type of targeted ground campaign requires an army of organised volunteers. The problem for Shapps was that membership of the Conservative party <a href="http://www.capx.co/166649-2/">has almost halved</a> over the past decade. As the party has become more centralised and more professional, grassroots membership has slipped away.This is where Mark Clarke and his RoadTrip 2015 organisation came in. Back in 2010, Clarke had stood as a Conservative candidate in Tooting, but lost out to Labour's Sadiq Khan. His time as a parliamentary candidate wasn't without controversy. He <a href="http://www.prweek.com/article/850753/tory-conference-ruined-clarke">was publically denounced</a> by an ex-girlfriend for his "appalling" behaviour and was heavily criticised by local Conservative party members in Tooting.In 2008, one local councillor presciently<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1068756/Future-Tatler-Tory-candidate-doubt-party-expresses-grave-concerns-fit-MP.html"> told the Mail on Sunday</a> "We have very grave concerns… There are people who are worried he [Clarke] could damage the party if he is elected. He would be a handful."Clarke was removed from the list of approved candidates for the 2015 election.<h3>A simple plan ...</h3>Clarke, however, was determined to win his way back into favour and came up with a simple plan that drew on his connections as the former national chair of the Conservative Party's youth wing, Conservative Future. A year before the general election he self-funded an organisation called RoadTrip 2015 which took coach loads of young Conservative party activists to campaign in target constituencies.Clarke thought that by providing this mobile campaign service, the Conservative party would be obliged to approve him as a candidate for the 2020 election. After the 2015 campaign was finished, he told this reporter that he would be organising another RoadTrip campaign in 2020 in the hope that he would build up support from grateful MPs who could push for him to be given a place in Cabinet.It was just what the Conservatives needed - a ready-made team of leaflet-delivers who could be deployed across the country. A decision <a href="https://www.politicshome.com/party-politics/articles/story/mark-clarke-four-senior-tories-approved-road-trip-campaign">was made by</a> co-chairmen Shapps and Feldman, strategist Crosby and deputy chairman Stephen Gilbert to incorporate RoadTrip 2015 into the official Conservative party campaign.No one knows for certain what exact input each of those four people had on the decision, but <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-3338816/ANDREW-PIERCE-Bungler-thought-PM-Shapps-thought-key-role-Road-Trip-2015-catapult-party-leader.html">The Mail reported that Shapps was the real driving force</a> behind signing up Clarke. Shapps' political ambitions made it easy for others to pin the blame on him, because they could say he was blinkered by a thirst for power.<h3>A get-rich quick scheme</h3>Shapps was also particularly vulnerable to these sorts of allegations because of his own controversies during the election campaign.In 2012, it emerged that when he was still an MP, Shapps had a second job running a get-rich-quick scheme that he operated, using the fictitious name "Michael Green." Embarrassing screenshots <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3006491/Full-toe-curling-sales-pitch-used-Tory-Grant-Shapps-convince-people-make-filthy-stinking-rich-bargain-130.html">were posted online</a> of Shapps posing in his car and plane to promote his "How To Become Stinking Filthy Rich Online in 2004" guide. Despite costing $197, buyers of the guide were assured that the toolkit they would acquire should "rightfully sell for say $100,000."The Advertising Standards Authority started, then dropped an investigation into claims the testimonials on Shapps' site were not real. This lead to an <a href="http://www.channel4.com/news/grant-shapps-second-job-michael-green-michael-crick-doorstep">extremely embarrassing moment</a> at Conservative Party Conference where Shapps was chased around by a journalist asking him questions about the testimonials. Senior Conservative officials would have been very angry that Shapps brought negative attention to their flagship event.The worst thing for Shapps was that these revelations confirmed the prejudices of his fellow Conservative MPs. Many of them considered him to be good at the necessary evil of campaign work, but lacking in political substance. This attitude can best be <a href="http://www.totalpolitics.com/print/344812/who-is-the-real-grant-shapps.thtml">summed up by a quote</a> about Shapps given by a Conservative MP to Total <keyword id="6358883" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Politics">Politics</keyword> magazine back in 2013 - "He's just a bloody salesman, isn't he?"Despite the Conservative's unexpected majority at the general election, Shapps was quietly removed as co-chairman and appointed as international development minister: A junior position that was in effect a demotion.<h3>"He's not a popular character so they can get away with it."</h3>This is was why it made total sense that Shapps took the blame for Clarke. He had already been demoted and is currently lacking friends within the party. One MP <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34962258">told the BBC</a> that Shapps was being used as a scapegoat: "He's not a popular character so they can get away with it."We don't know exactly what pressure was put on Shapps to resign, but it's easy enough to take an educated guess as to what happened. The clues are in his resignation letter and the response he received from the Prime Minister. The fact that Shapps took responsibility without kicking up a fuss and Cameron appeared to leave the door open for him to be promoted again in the future suggests that Shapps was offered a some sort of deal. If he went quietly, he would once again be given the opportunity to advance within the party.If this was the deal that was offered, both Shapps and leadership of the Conservative party would see it as a win.<h3>A close personal friend of David Cameron</h3>As things have turned out, Shapps' resignation has not had the effect the Conservative party was hoping for. Clarke has simply been around the Conservative party for too long for people to think that only the over-ambitious Shapps failed to investigate him properly.The most obvious inconsistency with Shapps' resignation is that while he has accepted responsibility, Lord Feldman who also signed off Clarke's RoadTrip 2015 has remained as chairman.Unlike Shapps, Feldman is a <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/998455d8-9776-11e5-95c7-d47aa298f769.html">close personal friend</a> of David Cameron; they were tennis partners when they were at Oxford University. Feldman has been responsible for <a href="http://www.capx.co/lord-feldman-should-not-resign/">bringing in millions</a> of pounds of funding into the Conservative party and is responsible for approving big financial decisions. He <a href="http://www.sunnation.co.uk/feldman-signed-off-65k-for-clarkes-battle-buses/">signed off</a> on the £65,000 needed to hire the buses used by Clarke.Until late last week Feldman was leading the internal investigation that kicked out Clarke and led to Shapps having to resign. Following <a href="http://www.conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2015/11/elliott-johnsons-father-must-now-have-the-independent-enquiry-he-wants.html">a plea from Elliott Johnson's father</a>, the Conservative party has been forced instead to appoint a law firm to carry out <a href="http://www.cityam.com/229794/conservatives-hire-magic-circle-law-firm-clifford-chance-for-report-on-mark-clarke-bullying-scandal">an independent investigation</a>.Feldman's fate, therefore, remains in the balance. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nation-on-the-trail-with-the-gop-frontrunner-2015-11">TRUMP NATION: We tried to answer the 3 questions everyone has about Donald Trump</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xkbWd4eDo-q2cc7uac6n6EUN8Mq1XpIr" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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