Alistair Campbell – The Blair Years (2007)
Politics – 750 pages – my copy (paperback;
- 2 nods
Since the fall-out of this year’s General Election and the resulting decline of New Labour, a plethora of political diaries have hit the shelves. Yes, their Westminster careers may be other, but there is still plenty of money to sweep up in all good bookstores everywhere. With Mandleson’s book doing its best at heightening tension in those in the Labour camp, Campbell’s own The Blair Years is a comparatively lame affair. Written before the end of New Labour, it is lightweight against today’s heavyweight of revelations. Indeed, Campbell himself is bringing out a hard-hitting and clawed version of his diaries to keep at bay the hunger of today’s demand.
So, what is Campbell’s book worth now in the political climate of 2010? It remains an interesting look into charting the rise of New Labour: from the opposition benches of the mid-nineties, to the euphoria of the 1997 landslide win, towards the notable decline and, yes, of course, the Iraq war (Legal? Illegal? The debate drags on…). The Blair Years succeeds in the detailing of Campbell’s close relationship with Tony Blair. We get a picture of Blair seldom seen in public or press: nervous, indecisive and worrying of the future.
But these extracts don’t dish out the dirt as future editions might be expected. Sure, there are attacks on various former cabinet ministers – such as Clare Short – but the targets are notably lightweight. Only rumblings on the ruptures between Brown and Blair, between Brown and Mandleson, between Brown and, well, everybody. Their soap-opera entanglements are of course second to the real nitty gritty of actual politics, yet we, the public, still bang the drum for more revelations.
Most of the pages note Campbell’s constant frustration and tiring of the job of propping up Blair and Co. A month doesn’t go by when he writes of his pending resignation. He refutes the accusation of Chief Spin Doctor, successfully detailing his side of events and his unwilling involvement in many media stories. But amongst this are cringing appraisals of Campbell’s work-rate, compliments mentioned from Bill Clinton, from Mrs Clinton, from Clinton’s aides and on and on and on.
Political diaries of the past prove of use for future evaluations of periods, the rock-bed of many a historian’s study. It would be stretching the truth to suggest The Blair Years will provide such a role; in appears condemned to be the poorer sibling of the more juicy out-pourings of Mandleson and the remainder of the New Labour cronies. O pity the poor historian.
Politics – 750 pages – my copy (paperback;
- 2 nods
Since the fall-out of this year’s General Election and the resulting decline of New Labour, a plethora of political diaries have hit the shelves. Yes, their Westminster careers may be other, but there is still plenty of money to sweep up in all good bookstores everywhere. With Mandleson’s book doing its best at heightening tension in those in the Labour camp, Campbell’s own The Blair Years is a comparatively lame affair. Written before the end of New Labour, it is lightweight against today’s heavyweight of revelations. Indeed, Campbell himself is bringing out a hard-hitting and clawed version of his diaries to keep at bay the hunger of today’s demand.
So, what is Campbell’s book worth now in the political climate of 2010? It remains an interesting look into charting the rise of New Labour: from the opposition benches of the mid-nineties, to the euphoria of the 1997 landslide win, towards the notable decline and, yes, of course, the Iraq war (Legal? Illegal? The debate drags on…). The Blair Years succeeds in the detailing of Campbell’s close relationship with Tony Blair. We get a picture of Blair seldom seen in public or press: nervous, indecisive and worrying of the future.
But these extracts don’t dish out the dirt as future editions might be expected. Sure, there are attacks on various former cabinet ministers – such as Clare Short – but the targets are notably lightweight. Only rumblings on the ruptures between Brown and Blair, between Brown and Mandleson, between Brown and, well, everybody. Their soap-opera entanglements are of course second to the real nitty gritty of actual politics, yet we, the public, still bang the drum for more revelations.
Most of the pages note Campbell’s constant frustration and tiring of the job of propping up Blair and Co. A month doesn’t go by when he writes of his pending resignation. He refutes the accusation of Chief Spin Doctor, successfully detailing his side of events and his unwilling involvement in many media stories. But amongst this are cringing appraisals of Campbell’s work-rate, compliments mentioned from Bill Clinton, from Mrs Clinton, from Clinton’s aides and on and on and on.
Political diaries of the past prove of use for future evaluations of periods, the rock-bed of many a historian’s study. It would be stretching the truth to suggest The Blair Years will provide such a role; in appears condemned to be the poorer sibling of the more juicy out-pourings of Mandleson and the remainder of the New Labour cronies. O pity the poor historian.
