Product Description

'Downing Street is said to be 'furious' at this book - and it is easy to understand why. It is the first meticulous chronicle of all that has happened since that bright May Day three years ago which first brought the Blair government to office' Anthony Howard, Sunday Times

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105108 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 592 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
If revenge is a dish best eaten cold, there will be some hastily scalded--and scolded--mouths around Westminster. Heavily serialised already in two national newspapers, political commentator Andrew Rawnsley's account of the honeymoon period of Tony Blair's Labour government is the story of four men who wanted something so much they could not believe it when it arrived. It proved, to a degree, a Faustian pact. Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell formed an inner circle without the Cabinet, but within earshot of their mutual blade-sharpening, while remaining glutinously bound by fierce personal desire. Rawnsley himself displays little of his subjects' "psychological flaws". Indeed, he would make a fine spin-doctor. His truffling turns up a barrowload of anonymous quotations, some whispered, some brayed, to support a punchy, racily confident narrative that begs between-the-lines reading to guess who has said what and why. He considers with clarity and wit episodes such as the now notorious Ecclestone affair, Geoffrey Robinson's home loan to Peter Mandelson, European monetary union, the Good Friday negotiations, Kosovo, the Pinochet affair, Scottish devolution and the trumpeted marriage of convenience between Blair and Brown. According to Rawnsley, while the antagonist Brown skulks around, grim of manner and unsung, Blair proves a more slippery customer. Unexpectedly gutsy over Kosovo and Northern Ireland, like Margaret Thatcher he remains at heart a conviction politician, and when his instinct deserts him, the exposed lack of ideological foundation can see him flounder, such as over the Mayor of London election. Rawnsley's final chapter, dealing with Blair's disastrous courting of the Women's Institute, inadvertently sets the stage for the fuel crisis, when the mask finally started to eat into the face. New Labour got itself into a spin, inevitably given its accelerating centrifugal force, but the Government still approaches the prospect of a second term-Blair's cherished dream--with cash in the coffers, and real achievements on the board. Andrew Rawnsley demands similar plaudits, for as vivid and plausible an account of the machinations of contemporary politics as there has been. And the burns will quickly heal. --David Vincent

NB: the latest edition includes a new preface and five new chapters which include information about the 2001 General Election

Review
"* 'The most readable contemporary history to be written since New Labour was elected' Roy Hattersley, Observer * 'Riveting... the Government's dirty washing has been well and truly hung out in public' Rachel Sylvester, Daily Telegraph"

From the Publisher
Praise for 'Servants of the People' by Andrew Rawnsley:
‘[Servants of the people has] lifted the lid on rivalries and jealousies among some of the most senior figures in the government’ – Mirror ‘The personal feuds in Tony Blair’s Cabinet were laid bare yesterday when [Servants of the People] revealed the Prime Minister’s running battles with Gordon Brown and…Mo Mowlam’ – Andrew Grice, Independent

‘Andrew Rawnsley’s book … has lifted the lid on the Blair/Brown relationship and become the most talked-about political work for years’ – Daily Mail

‘[Rawnsley] lays bare the stormy relationship between Mr Brown and other ministers, including the Prime Minister himself’ – Daily Express

‘[An] authoritative book’ – Observer

Customer Reviews

A real political soap opera
A feeling of great novelty attached itself to Tony Blair's government in 1997 because it was the first Labour administration in eighteen years, yet it wasn't Labour, it was 'New Labour'. What did this mean for the governance of Britain? Andrew Rawnsley takes us to the heart of the explosive inter-personal relationships at the top of New Labour. Blair v Brown, Brown v Mandelson, Campbell v Mandelson. The sniping, briefing and counter-briefing and the battle for positive headlines makes you wonder how New Labour ever gets anything done. But it does and Rawnsley takes time to remind us of the advances made by Blair and co. in their first term in office. So much of the drama in the story is human drama, rather than politcal drama, which makes the story of Blair's first government so very compelling. If you want to know what New Labour got up to from 1997-2001 then read this book. If you want to read about Blair's boldness read the chapters on Diana's death, Kosovo and Northern Ireland. If you want to read about the paranioa-stricken leader look no further than Blair's hysterical memos. What was the Arms to Africa affair all about? What about that 'psychological flaws' remark? How does Blair feel about the public sector? Was there any logic behind the cutting of lone parent benefits? Why was Blair so desperate to install puppet regimes in Wales and London? How has New Labour been able to defy Labour convention and win successive landslides? All this and more is answered by Rawnsley.

Fascinating if dated
An excellent book on politics. Rawnsley obviously had excellent access at the time of writing. He has a profound understanding of politics which does not detract from his ability to see the funny side. He is also a good writer with an extensive vocabulary and a sense of rhythm. It's just a pity that he decided not to write subsequent volumes or updated versions covering the whole period of Labour's term in office. This book can be whole-heartedly recommended to anyone who is interested in politics. We all should be. The more faults and failings our politicians have, the more we should keep an eye on them.

Excellent look behind the scenes at the hype behind the spin
This is an excllent buy. It looks at the day to day workings of No 10 and the workings of the New Labour Government which turns out to be the same old croanies with a different face. Andrew Rawnsley looks at a number of recent events and weeds out the facts that the new Blairites have tried to spin under the carpet. A good and lively read especially in this election year! Read before voting!