Book Reviews

Reviews The Conservatives: A History more in practical terms than the A Walk-On Part: (Robin Harris) Publisher remarkable Jewish adventurer. Diaries 1994-99 Bantam, £30 Yet Salisbury rarely gets the (Chris Mullin) recognition he deserves in Publisher Profile, his new, Conservative Party history. £24.99 comprehensive Harris redresses the balance, history of the drawing on Andrew Roberts’ his, the Conservative Party magnificent biography of third (and is a profoundly Salisbury, published in 1999. last) volume importantT book. Its author, This book cannot, however, of Chris Robin Harris, is a highly be regarded as a definitive history Mullin’s magnificent diaries, regarded historian and writer. He has been of the party. Harris allows his own strong, beginsT with the death of John Smith, our last well-known in Conservative circles since often controversial political opinions to listening Labour leader, in 1994, where the the 1980s, when he was director of the intrude on his assessments of the party in first volume dealt with the end of Labour’s Conservative Research Department. the 20th century, which has been dubbed 13-year rule, which was also the end of In some 520 pages of clear, forceful ‘the Conservative century’. Harris finds Mullin’s political career before he went on prose he draws on a wide range of (largely little merit in most of the leaders who to a new and successful role as pundit and published) sources to provide an immensely brought the party success in this period. literary flaneur. stimulating, and often highly provocative, Harold Macmillan is treated with particular Chris began his political career, a start account of the party’s changing fortunes – its scorn: “by no known definition was he, which evidently wasn’t diarised and won’t triumphs and its setbacks – since the early philosophically speaking, a conservative”. be chronicled, as a radical lefty, editor of 19th century. It was then that the modern Harris believes that Margaret Thatcher’s Tribune, Tony Benn’s loyal lieutenant and the Conservative Party began to take shape. predecessors should have done far more to author of A Very British Coup, a paranoid left There are many fine passages in this get the state out of the economy and promote fantasy. He entered Parliament in 1987 as beautifully written book. The philosophical the kind of liberal, free market policies she MP for Sunderland, which plugged him into foundations of Conservatism supplied by pursued so successfully after 1979. But that the real world. Vestiges of raving radicalism Edmund Burke – ironically, not a Tory at approach would not have brought electoral remained: he still thinks a little wistfully that all, but an Irish Whig – are summarised success before the late 1970s. Throughout the if Benn had won in the early 80s, Labour incisively. Harris notes perceptively that ‘the earlier decades of steadily rising prosperity could have won big as a proper socialist party most effective exponents of Conservative the Conservative Party won its victories by in the early 90s. He opposed the dropping of politics have often been outsiders’. showing that it could extend economic and Clause IV, joined the Campaign Group and No-one proved that point more social well-being throughout all classes more criticised the ideological emptiness of both memorably than Disraeli, the exotic Jewish effectively than Labour, without resorting to Blair and Brown. outsider who cast his spell over the party worryingly unorthodox economic doctrines. All this is, however, disavowed in the so profoundly that it continued to grow in The party’s great 20th century goal was preface to this volume and was, in fact, strength after his death in 1881, making him spelt out by Stanley Baldwin in 1924: “to only weakly defended in 1994, because by the greatest Conservative icon of all time. make one nation of our own people at home that time he was beginning to tell Tony ‘National prestige,’ writes Harris, was ‘his which, if secured, nothing else matters in Benn he was impractical, and reluctantly decisive contribution to the idea which the the world”. More Conservatives have been admiring ‘The Man’ Blair. Chris was not yet Conservative Party has of itself’. inspired by the One Nation ideal than by ‘ministrable’, unlike Benn’s other lieutenant, After Disraeli, Conservatives never anything else; the 20th century cannot be Michael Meacher, who Blair had to appoint wavered in their belief that their country understood without reference to it. And, as a minister because of his placing in the must always be a leading participant in thanks to David Cameron, it is being shadow cabinet and who, despite Tony European and world affairs. In developing brought back to inspire Conservatives once Blair’s efforts to make his life difficult, was our national greatness, Disraeli’s successor, again in this century. one of the most successful ministers of New Lord Salisbury, achieved considerably Lord Lexden is the Conservative Party’s official historian Labour’s early, do-nothing days. Chris

50 | THE HOUSE MAGAZINE |26 January 2012 TV Review

Mullin wasn’t yet house-trained or popular Borgen (Dir. Mikael Birkkjær) enough to reach such heights, though he BBC4 climbed them later. We’re the beneficiaries because by 1994 his compromise with reality had gone far enough to put him in a t long last, we can watch our as Katrine

strong position as a diarist. He was a trustee, equivalent of The West Wing. Fonsmark – but Reviews sufficiently sound to mix with Labour’s great Sadly not made here, or about at least one set up and almost good, and not be shunned by British politics, but Denmark's with a key prime them like Benn. Borgen is much, much closer to minister’s aide, so All this made Mullin well placed to theA way we do politics than that imperial British political do what he’s done: given us the best set focus of power, the White House. life does imitate of diaries of the fourth post-war Labour By contrast there has always something Danish political art. government and a fascinating inside story. odd about the way British representations The problems the woman PM has in It’s a fascinating trip down memory lane of politics on TV are so far from reality. providing her husband with adequate sex and particularly pleasurable for me, because The strange grip of the Oxbridge Footlights as well as children-time comes from Cherie Mullin’s inside perceptions were much the tradition, where all political life is reduced Blair’s memoir, or David Cameron’s hints same as my own outside feelings. Like him, to farce and played for laughs – think The about home-alone evenings with Samantha. I thought our first two years were wasted Thick of It, Yes Minister, or B’stard – means The politics is pitch perfect: a row over by keeping to spending totals the Tories that viewers have never been offered a extraordinary rendition, a former part of had never seriously intended to keep, and straight political soap opera. House of Cards Denmark now miserable as an independent considered that the tying of our hands or A Very British Coup were fun but utter state (does Scotland really want to be against tax increases were a disastrous fantasy while David Hare’s morality plays Greenland?), corporate muscle trying to waste of time. The first two years are, as the on politics were like reading a Guardian block a policy, an authoritarian state trying Thatcher and Cameron governments knew, Comment is Free lecture that never ended. to bully an opponent living in freedom the time to do the dirty work. So it is from Denmark that we now in a democracy. These are real-time UK His perceptions of people are the most enjoy a well-written, tightly plotted, pacy problems that reflect recent events. The interesting part of the book. Robin Cook series on politics which has many read-overs pressure of 7/24 media and the narcissism he saw as the most strongly principled and to Westminster and Whitehall. The most of small differences blown up into 24-hour intelligent, but disqualified by his awkward important one is that in May 2010, the voters Wagnerian epics by the press before they personality and insufferable egotism. Brown decided to become European – not that they subside into barely recalled stories are he saw as ideologically empty but a strong fell in love with the EU but, like electorates accurately retold. humanitarian, anxious to improve the lot of in many European states, they decided not to In reality Borgen is Downtown Abbey the people. ‘The Man’ was a brilliant orator, allow any party a majority. Denmark has not set in contemporary politics. The characters, capable of leading the party anywhere but had a majority government since 1909 and events, and denouements are larger than getting exhausted and losing his way. the current Danish prime minister, the social life but much closer to the real thing than Because publication of the diaries is in democrat and Neil Kinnock’s daughter- all recent British TV series on politics. reverse order, those who’ve read all three in-law, Helle Thorning Schmidt, presides Scandinavian thriller writers are all intensely will reach this start a little jaundiced by over an awkward three-party coalition. political and from this small region of hindsight, but future readers will approach The betrayals, double-dealing, ditching of Europe are coming some real page-turners them in chronological order. The present old friends and policies needed to form a or with Borgen, the best political soap volume will be like a vision of the lambs coalition are perfectly caught, and a manual since West Wing. But the puzzle remains. and shepherds gambolling before the storm for what may well turn out to be 21st century Why are British scriptwriters and TV breaks in Beethoven’s Pastoral: an exciting politics in Britain. The interface with spin commissioning editors so incapable of and sunlit start of a journey into dejection, doctors and key TV news anchors could also producing anything similar? rejection and bitterness at the end. have come from 4 Millbank. Sadly, British Denis MacShane is Labour MP for Rotherham and a former Austin Mitchell is associate editor of The House Magazine TV political stars are not as pulchritudinous Europe minister

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