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Kind of Blue
Ken Clarke needs no introduction. One of the genuine 'Big Beasts' of the political scene, during his forty-six years as the Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire he has been at the very heart of government under three prime ministers. He is a political obsessive with a personal hinterland, as well known as a Tory Wet with Europhile views as for his love of cricket, Nottingham Forest Football Club and jazz. In Kind of Blue, Clarke charts his remarkable progress from working-class scholarship boy in Nottinghamshire to high political office and the upper echelons of both his party and of government. But Clarke is not a straightforward Conservative politician. His position on the left of the party often led Margaret Thatcher to question his true blue credentials and his passionate commitment to the European project has led many fellow Conservatives to regard him with suspicion – and cost him the leadership on no less than three occasions.Clarke has had a ringside seat in British politics for four decades and his trenchant observations and candid account of life both in and out of government will enthral readers of all political persuasions. Vivid, witty and forthright, and taking its title not only from his politics but from his beloved Miles Davis, Kind of Blue is political memoir at its very best.
545 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 6, 2016
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January 13, 2020
Cuddly Uncle Ken...
Ken Clarke has been a fixture in the UK Parliament since 1970, so the entire period in which I’ve been politically aware. He has stood down at this election, having been thrown out of the party of which he has been a member all these years over his support for remaining in the EU. Not that he will care, I imagine – the personality I’ve spent so long with in this 24 hour audiobook is one who will always believe he is right and everyone else is wrong, and will happily sail off into the sunset with his sense of his innate superiority undented.
Long familiarity with a politician can breed a kind of affection, especially when he remains in parliament long after his ministerial days are over. There is a tradition in the UK, not so much of elder statesmen, but of cuddly uncles – men who pepper their speeches with rambling accounts of how things used to be back in the days of Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher, like the old relative in the corner at family gatherings who will insist on talking about the war. (I’m not being unconsciously sexist here – it really is a male thing since we haven’t had enough long-serving women MPs for there to be many female octogenarians shuffling around the corridors of power yet... give it another couple of decades.) For older people, like me, who remember Wilson and Thatcher, this gives a curious sense of stability and continuity. Younger people, I imagine, simply roll their eyes and switch off. Over the last couple of decades, Clarke has become one of those cuddly uncles, known for his love of jazz, his cigar-smoking bon viveur personality, his jovial demeanour, and his endearingly crumpled appearance...
...which explains why I’d managed to sort of forget that he was responsible for overseeing some of the most Thatcherite policies of the Thatcher era! As a cabinet minister in those days he served as Health Secretary as the first tentative steps were taken to make the NHS more “efficient” (i.e., cheaper) by introducing the ‘internal market’ - a way of making hospitals compete against each other for patients; for ‘contracting out’ ancillary services – a way of making cleaners, canteen staff and so on work longer for less money and fewer employment rights; and for making GPs ‘fundholders’, taking decisions on where patients should be treated on the basis of budgets rather than quality of care. Then, having destroyed standards and morale in the NHS, he spent a couple of years trying to wreck – I mean, improve – education, in much the same way.
So “successful” was he in these roles that Thatcher’s successor, John Major, promoted him to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer. How you rate him in this role really depends on your political leanings. The economy improved under his oversight, but the disparity between rich and poor grew. Unemployment went down, but it could be argued that it was Thatcher’s policies that had made it rise to such alarming rates in the first place. Interest rates, driven through the roof by the government’s mishandling of the whole question of the ERM and the single European currency, came back down to bearable levels. All of this gave him a reputation for competence and I won’t argue with that except to say that every chancellor’s reputation rests to some degree on the competence or otherwise of his predecessor and successor. Clarke succeeded to a shambles – it would have been hard for him to make things worse.
The book is well written, full of anecdotes and personality sketches that stop it from being a dry read about policies. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Clarke himself and he has an attractive speaking voice, making it a pleasant listening experience. But although I listened very hard, I can’t remember him once in the whole 24 hours ever expressing any concern for the weaker or more vulnerable members of our society. I got the distinct impression that to Clarke politics is an intellectual game, with victory being judged by statistics and honours rather than by outcomes for actual people. Even his much vaunted support for the EU, which in recent years has made many Remainers feel that he’s much cuddlier than most Conservatives, really seems to be about the free flow of workers providing a limitless pool of cheap labour from the poorer countries in Europe with which to boost profits for the rich while depressing the pay and conditions of those Brits already at the bottom of the economic ladder.
As is often the case with political memoirs, Clarke only really talks about the events in which he was directly involved, which is understandable but often gives a rather patchy view of a period. For instance, there’s barely a mention of the Falklands War, which played a huge role in why the Thatcher government was re-elected. He does talk about the miners’ strike, but again on a purely political level. There is no doubt that the rights and wrongs of the strike are debatable, but most people, I think, have some sympathy for the suffering that the mining communities went through during and after the strike. I didn’t catch a whiff of that from Clarke – to him, it was solely a question of economics and political power.
I often find my view of a politician changes when I read their memoirs, which is why I do it. Usually I come out feeling that I may disagree with them politically but that I’ve gained an appreciation of their good intentions. In this case the reverse happened. I rather liked Cuddly Uncle Ken before I listened to this, but now I see him as smug and self-satisfied, a man who throughout his life has been far more interested in his own comfort and reputation than in trying to improve the lives of the people he serves. I was sorry to see him thrown out of his party after a lifetime in it, but now... well, somehow I don’t much care. He says himself frequently that he’s not the type of person who lets anything bother him. I would have liked him to be bothered by inequality, child poverty, the marginalised and the forgotten. Is that too much to ask of a politician? As a book, though, I do recommend it as a well written memoir that casts light on the politics of the last fifty years.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Ken Clarke has been a fixture in the UK Parliament since 1970, so the entire period in which I’ve been politically aware. He has stood down at this election, having been thrown out of the party of which he has been a member all these years over his support for remaining in the EU. Not that he will care, I imagine – the personality I’ve spent so long with in this 24 hour audiobook is one who will always believe he is right and everyone else is wrong, and will happily sail off into the sunset with his sense of his innate superiority undented.
Long familiarity with a politician can breed a kind of affection, especially when he remains in parliament long after his ministerial days are over. There is a tradition in the UK, not so much of elder statesmen, but of cuddly uncles – men who pepper their speeches with rambling accounts of how things used to be back in the days of Harold Wilson or Margaret Thatcher, like the old relative in the corner at family gatherings who will insist on talking about the war. (I’m not being unconsciously sexist here – it really is a male thing since we haven’t had enough long-serving women MPs for there to be many female octogenarians shuffling around the corridors of power yet... give it another couple of decades.) For older people, like me, who remember Wilson and Thatcher, this gives a curious sense of stability and continuity. Younger people, I imagine, simply roll their eyes and switch off. Over the last couple of decades, Clarke has become one of those cuddly uncles, known for his love of jazz, his cigar-smoking bon viveur personality, his jovial demeanour, and his endearingly crumpled appearance...
...which explains why I’d managed to sort of forget that he was responsible for overseeing some of the most Thatcherite policies of the Thatcher era! As a cabinet minister in those days he served as Health Secretary as the first tentative steps were taken to make the NHS more “efficient” (i.e., cheaper) by introducing the ‘internal market’ - a way of making hospitals compete against each other for patients; for ‘contracting out’ ancillary services – a way of making cleaners, canteen staff and so on work longer for less money and fewer employment rights; and for making GPs ‘fundholders’, taking decisions on where patients should be treated on the basis of budgets rather than quality of care. Then, having destroyed standards and morale in the NHS, he spent a couple of years trying to wreck – I mean, improve – education, in much the same way.
So “successful” was he in these roles that Thatcher’s successor, John Major, promoted him to be the Chancellor of the Exchequer. How you rate him in this role really depends on your political leanings. The economy improved under his oversight, but the disparity between rich and poor grew. Unemployment went down, but it could be argued that it was Thatcher’s policies that had made it rise to such alarming rates in the first place. Interest rates, driven through the roof by the government’s mishandling of the whole question of the ERM and the single European currency, came back down to bearable levels. All of this gave him a reputation for competence and I won’t argue with that except to say that every chancellor’s reputation rests to some degree on the competence or otherwise of his predecessor and successor. Clarke succeeded to a shambles – it would have been hard for him to make things worse.
The book is well written, full of anecdotes and personality sketches that stop it from being a dry read about policies. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Clarke himself and he has an attractive speaking voice, making it a pleasant listening experience. But although I listened very hard, I can’t remember him once in the whole 24 hours ever expressing any concern for the weaker or more vulnerable members of our society. I got the distinct impression that to Clarke politics is an intellectual game, with victory being judged by statistics and honours rather than by outcomes for actual people. Even his much vaunted support for the EU, which in recent years has made many Remainers feel that he’s much cuddlier than most Conservatives, really seems to be about the free flow of workers providing a limitless pool of cheap labour from the poorer countries in Europe with which to boost profits for the rich while depressing the pay and conditions of those Brits already at the bottom of the economic ladder.
As is often the case with political memoirs, Clarke only really talks about the events in which he was directly involved, which is understandable but often gives a rather patchy view of a period. For instance, there’s barely a mention of the Falklands War, which played a huge role in why the Thatcher government was re-elected. He does talk about the miners’ strike, but again on a purely political level. There is no doubt that the rights and wrongs of the strike are debatable, but most people, I think, have some sympathy for the suffering that the mining communities went through during and after the strike. I didn’t catch a whiff of that from Clarke – to him, it was solely a question of economics and political power.
I often find my view of a politician changes when I read their memoirs, which is why I do it. Usually I come out feeling that I may disagree with them politically but that I’ve gained an appreciation of their good intentions. In this case the reverse happened. I rather liked Cuddly Uncle Ken before I listened to this, but now I see him as smug and self-satisfied, a man who throughout his life has been far more interested in his own comfort and reputation than in trying to improve the lives of the people he serves. I was sorry to see him thrown out of his party after a lifetime in it, but now... well, somehow I don’t much care. He says himself frequently that he’s not the type of person who lets anything bother him. I would have liked him to be bothered by inequality, child poverty, the marginalised and the forgotten. Is that too much to ask of a politician? As a book, though, I do recommend it as a well written memoir that casts light on the politics of the last fifty years.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
October 6, 2019
Very readable autobiography, frank and decent. Describing himself as “right of centre” it’s clear to see how extreme his party has now become by withdrawing the whip from him – in effect booting him out. He has been a consistent europhile since first taking his seat in Parliament under Harold Macmillan.
Reading this reminded me of lots I'd forgotten/didn't know. Eg. Margaret Thatcher fighting the 1975 referendum on Europe (to remain a member), wearing her yellow stars on blue jumper!
K.C. occupied many of the chief offices of state and had many run-ins with the various PMs, particularly Maggs! His portrayal of the iron lady is quite endearing (and I’m no fan!). A ferocious fighter, with language to match her blue outfits, she never bore a grudge afterwards apparently, and could be persuaded to change her mind. Her aptitude for work was phenomenal.
The Coalition Government (2010-15), according to K.C. did good work and passed legislation that a Tory administration could not have.
It is valuable having his canny take on the Brexit debacle. Of recent Prime Ministers, he argues, only Blair has been consistently positive about Europe. All the rest played the euro sceptic card in order to try to keep their potential brexit minded colleagues on board (and then expressed surprise when the electorate absorbed the scepticism and voted accordingly). Cameron found himself further isolated in Europe due to some rather foolish foot work on his part. Until that point he had been quite lucky at the gambling tables. But then, according to Ken, he overplayed his hand and “lost the lot”. Excellent. 4*
Reading this reminded me of lots I'd forgotten/didn't know. Eg. Margaret Thatcher fighting the 1975 referendum on Europe (to remain a member), wearing her yellow stars on blue jumper!
K.C. occupied many of the chief offices of state and had many run-ins with the various PMs, particularly Maggs! His portrayal of the iron lady is quite endearing (and I’m no fan!). A ferocious fighter, with language to match her blue outfits, she never bore a grudge afterwards apparently, and could be persuaded to change her mind. Her aptitude for work was phenomenal.
The Coalition Government (2010-15), according to K.C. did good work and passed legislation that a Tory administration could not have.
It is valuable having his canny take on the Brexit debacle. Of recent Prime Ministers, he argues, only Blair has been consistently positive about Europe. All the rest played the euro sceptic card in order to try to keep their potential brexit minded colleagues on board (and then expressed surprise when the electorate absorbed the scepticism and voted accordingly). Cameron found himself further isolated in Europe due to some rather foolish foot work on his part. Until that point he had been quite lucky at the gambling tables. But then, according to Ken, he overplayed his hand and “lost the lot”. Excellent. 4*
March 26, 2018
Ken Clarke has always been viewed as a bit of a political maverick who is not slow to disagree with his fellow Tories when he doesn't agree with them. He is well known for his pro-Europe viewpoint and refusal to compromise that opinion. I expected this to be an interesting read and it certainly was.
We read about his desire to support Harold MacMillan in the decision to join the EC as it was at the time, and of course he has supported each transformation of the European project ever since. He gives his reasons for supporting it so the reader fully understands his motivations. I was fascinated to discover that it was Ken who was responsible for the extended building of motorways and by-passes that are so important to our current travel plans around the country, despite opposition from government colleagues. If he hadn't got this through, what state would our transport system be in today? It doesn't bear thinking about. It was he and Leon Brittan who brought in the drink driving laws that try to keep us safer on the roads today. He was also firmly against the introduction of the hated Poll Tax which led to the end of the Thatcher government.
There is a lot of depth about the inner workings of the Thatcher government, which is one of the things that I really wanted to read about. Ken shares that she had as difficult a relationship with her ministers as she did with the general population of the country and he highlights things like the Westland affair to show the divisions and how she sold out other people to save her own skin. She seemed to have a determination to run everything herself which greatly annoyed her ministers. I was also unaware that she actually tried to stop the reunification of Germany, leading to a huge fallout with the German leader as you could expect. She also blamed the other departments for misleading her about Europe when she changed her mind and became a Eurosceptic, something that caused divisions in the Cabinet. This is exactly the kind of thing I like to read about with the bitching and backstabbing and plotting over important issues of the day.
My favourite bits are reading about the financial meltdown that happened with Norman Lamont carrying the can and the downfall of Thatcher herself with the leadership contests. I'm no economist but reading behind the headlines about the big Black Wednesday disaster was really interesting. I watched the TV news at the time but seeing what was going on behind the scenes to solve the problem was interesting. The downfall of Thatcher read like a minute by minute thriller with all the secret meetings and agreements, who was running or not running, who was blaming who, who was supporting each candidate, who was publicly supporting the PM and who was not. It was fascinating on every level.
It is a long book but packed full of interesting things and was easy to read. I very much enjoyed finding out more about what happened in the Thatcher era from one of the major political figures of the time.
We read about his desire to support Harold MacMillan in the decision to join the EC as it was at the time, and of course he has supported each transformation of the European project ever since. He gives his reasons for supporting it so the reader fully understands his motivations. I was fascinated to discover that it was Ken who was responsible for the extended building of motorways and by-passes that are so important to our current travel plans around the country, despite opposition from government colleagues. If he hadn't got this through, what state would our transport system be in today? It doesn't bear thinking about. It was he and Leon Brittan who brought in the drink driving laws that try to keep us safer on the roads today. He was also firmly against the introduction of the hated Poll Tax which led to the end of the Thatcher government.
There is a lot of depth about the inner workings of the Thatcher government, which is one of the things that I really wanted to read about. Ken shares that she had as difficult a relationship with her ministers as she did with the general population of the country and he highlights things like the Westland affair to show the divisions and how she sold out other people to save her own skin. She seemed to have a determination to run everything herself which greatly annoyed her ministers. I was also unaware that she actually tried to stop the reunification of Germany, leading to a huge fallout with the German leader as you could expect. She also blamed the other departments for misleading her about Europe when she changed her mind and became a Eurosceptic, something that caused divisions in the Cabinet. This is exactly the kind of thing I like to read about with the bitching and backstabbing and plotting over important issues of the day.
My favourite bits are reading about the financial meltdown that happened with Norman Lamont carrying the can and the downfall of Thatcher herself with the leadership contests. I'm no economist but reading behind the headlines about the big Black Wednesday disaster was really interesting. I watched the TV news at the time but seeing what was going on behind the scenes to solve the problem was interesting. The downfall of Thatcher read like a minute by minute thriller with all the secret meetings and agreements, who was running or not running, who was blaming who, who was supporting each candidate, who was publicly supporting the PM and who was not. It was fascinating on every level.
It is a long book but packed full of interesting things and was easy to read. I very much enjoyed finding out more about what happened in the Thatcher era from one of the major political figures of the time.
April 19, 2017
I began to read this book because of my admiration for the politics which Ken Clarke has espoused; I finished it with that feeling hugely strengthened by this fascinating autobiography, detailing his decades-long political career. ‘Kind of Blue’ is consistently engaging and enjoyable, with Clarke being humorous and candid throughout. He shatters illusions about himself, other political figures (such as Margaret Thatcher and Jean-Claude Juncker) and the important political issues of his time, while never once being either self-aggrandising or petty.
It is, in my opinion, one of the tragedies of British politics that Kenneth Clarke was never able to put his compassionate, pro-European, free-market views into practice as Prime Minister or even Leader of the Conservative Party. Despite this, his contribution, in roles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor, Home Secretary, Secretary for Health and several other ministerial posts, has been immense. In the relaxed, self-deprecating ‘Kind of Blue’ is contained the story of one of the most influential political figures of his generation, told in his own words; I would recommend this tremendous memoir to absolutely anyone.
It is, in my opinion, one of the tragedies of British politics that Kenneth Clarke was never able to put his compassionate, pro-European, free-market views into practice as Prime Minister or even Leader of the Conservative Party. Despite this, his contribution, in roles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor, Home Secretary, Secretary for Health and several other ministerial posts, has been immense. In the relaxed, self-deprecating ‘Kind of Blue’ is contained the story of one of the most influential political figures of his generation, told in his own words; I would recommend this tremendous memoir to absolutely anyone.
December 15, 2017
When you’ve done everything you can over your allotted span, life of course ends but the eternal reward isn’t quite what you think, you who are convinced you’re right about your Nirvana, hovering Heaven, rousting Valhalla, forty bored virgins siting about, leafy Elysium or mythical golf links. No. What really happens is not a one size fits all solution that clogs up the fairway because, as everyone knows deep down in their innermost soul, thank you gifts are always best when they are personalised.
So drop through your insubstantial cloud of certainty for a moment and follow me over the Rainbow Bridge as it crumbles away to peek through one of many windows in another place where the sun sets peacefully beneath a gathering of souls.
“That really is too slow”, the shade that had once been Vercingetorix complained. “Open a window to cool it all down or this coat is going to set too quickly.” Amelia Earhart made a long arm and flicked open the catch, spiritually abetted by a yawn from Cardinal Richelieu.
“Time isn't very important in the grand scheme of things”, chattered Mozart, elbowing a sleeping Einstein. “not if you’re a connoisseur and you like to relax and properly enjoy it”. Shaka Zulu nodded wisely.
“Why do they order this ‘chemical catalyst’ rubbish anyway, when the stuff we used to have stayed sticky for ages and had that distinctive watery pong to it that you could only clear with a sliced onion? I mean, look at this” Ernest Shackleton huffed, indignant. “if you so much as turn away from this brand, it’s gone solid as a ruddy vinyl tea tray. They didn’t have it in my day and I don’t remember it turning yellow two years later either, so then you have to do it again. I’m pretty sure I could sail to South Georgia on a coat that thick.”
“Stands to reason it’s not like the old stuff. They banned that type because of the lead in it. That’s Health & Safety mate”, advised Baron von Richthofen, with his usual Teutonic adherence to the rules. “It was cyanide in the wallpaper ink that did for poor old Boney over there”. The compact Frenchman in question appeared resigned to the issue but Nico Machiavelli whispered a correction, “cyanide”.
“Inheritance powder, is what we used to call that” chided Madame Curie as her smile quivered at the edges. Anna Seacole looked out of the window languidly and then focussed back to the paint, commenting “Walls used to be more interesting back then, even on tents. I hear now you can hardly see the paint for Star Wars decals in most kids’ bedrooms”.
Gertrude Bell seemed to be locked in a staring contest with the wall but in reality her eyes had glazed over several decades ago and she was being propped up discreetly by T.E. Lawrence and Clive of India.
Marco Polo wasn’t listening either, tuned out and absorbed as he was with the wet wall in front of him. The sun finally dropped and rapt attention wrapped harder around the audience. Eyes bored.
CAUTION. WET PAINT.
Biggles stood up and shuffled closer to the inaction, upsetting those who said he was getting in the way of the view. They’d been surprised enough to find out that he was a real person but now this impertinence capped it all; and Julius Caesar spoke for all of them with a “Quiz decorum est?”
“Back on the ship”, said Magellan, I used to imagine the heavens were an endless expanse of fresh paintwork, approaching the tacky stage at the edges where they curled down into the seas.” Rameses nodded crankily to royally endorse a shared experience, then the more aesthetic of the others, their eyes still attending the settling paint nodded in solidarity with the image the explorer had presented.
“I thought the stars were numbers” mentioned Archimedes, before he got waved down. “Painted numbers, obviously” he supplemented to little effect, before abandoning the conversation altogether. Picasso’s eyes toured a weary arch across the heavens but no doves were out this evening.
The thing is, heroes and other extremely high achieving mortals have very unusually, very particularly, very, very exciting lives. Sometimes they have short lives but even those are very, very exciting. When the mightiest conquerors, the most inflamed thinkers and unbelievably hard working discoverers do drop off the perch and come to claim their eternal reward, in a dimension where nothing is material, what they really want above all other things is glorious rest, peace and quiet. Dull is the new perfect. There are isolation tanks nowadays and you might even find yourself some day in zero gravity but although quiet, neither of those things are comfortable; but there is watching paint dry, which works much better.
“It’s building up to the good bit”, announced Nefertiti. “See? It’s getting ever so slightly sticky and if you get a hair in it now, you’ll mess up everything when you try to pick it back out”. Machiavelli had a dagger for work like that but didn’t say because Alexander Fleming had temporarily borrowed it.
“How long before it’s ready for another coat?” asked Ernest Hemmingway, but Shakespeare pointedly ignored him, as a drooping P.T. Barnum went 12 points ahead crossing ‘lethargy’ and ‘inactive’ at Scrabble. The showman’s hat fell off and rolled away, increasing the pleasure of those behind who had been trying to spectate around it. “We could ask again in a week or two”, Hemmingway suggested.
“Or do the work yourself for a change”, scolded Marie Antoinette.
“I just love this stage”, Mohammed Ali interrupted. “Look how the brush strokes like the veins in a butterfly’s wing seep in and merge tiny furrows together into a perfectly even surface. It’s like gravity, but sideways. What an adventure.”
“Hey y ’all, if we flick a speck o’ grit on that they’ll need to sand it down in the mornin’ and start the whole thing over again. What say?” This suggestion by Calamity Jane, or perhaps she was Annie Oakley because they wore the same hat, sparked a murmur of agreement in the throng.
“It’s still not dried. We’ve got at least another three hours” protested Leonardo, willing them all to stay. He needn’t have bothered because they weren’t going anywhere. Unseen but fervently admired, a few more watery molecules evaporated from the surface of the paint.
Farther up the metaphorical mountain of eternal and exquisite boredom, which happened to be, also metaphorically, situated far up in a torpid sky, according to the most ancient of legends from the dawning of time, there is a unique place for those super-rare and precious few heroes whose unbelievably energetic accomplishments qualify them for an experience even less exciting and more fabulously dull than watching paint dry. What this reward might be, only the transcendental scribes of the Universe can hint at – and they’re not telling, but there is hope of an answer if you ask around the more attentive of seekers.
See how your attention turns to the seldom noticed errand-boy who serves this little niche of heaven, whose obligation it is to descend from the mountain once in an age and drop to the surface of the Earth, whereupon he crosses the threshold of a bookshop with a shining fifty pee coin out of petty cash, reaches into the remainders basket and traipses back up to provision those in the silent sanctum, the only place of its kind, to feed the ultimate, unadulterated epicentre of boring in the Universe with the perfect fit for their requirements: Ken Clarke’s autobiography.
So drop through your insubstantial cloud of certainty for a moment and follow me over the Rainbow Bridge as it crumbles away to peek through one of many windows in another place where the sun sets peacefully beneath a gathering of souls.
“That really is too slow”, the shade that had once been Vercingetorix complained. “Open a window to cool it all down or this coat is going to set too quickly.” Amelia Earhart made a long arm and flicked open the catch, spiritually abetted by a yawn from Cardinal Richelieu.
“Time isn't very important in the grand scheme of things”, chattered Mozart, elbowing a sleeping Einstein. “not if you’re a connoisseur and you like to relax and properly enjoy it”. Shaka Zulu nodded wisely.
“Why do they order this ‘chemical catalyst’ rubbish anyway, when the stuff we used to have stayed sticky for ages and had that distinctive watery pong to it that you could only clear with a sliced onion? I mean, look at this” Ernest Shackleton huffed, indignant. “if you so much as turn away from this brand, it’s gone solid as a ruddy vinyl tea tray. They didn’t have it in my day and I don’t remember it turning yellow two years later either, so then you have to do it again. I’m pretty sure I could sail to South Georgia on a coat that thick.”
“Stands to reason it’s not like the old stuff. They banned that type because of the lead in it. That’s Health & Safety mate”, advised Baron von Richthofen, with his usual Teutonic adherence to the rules. “It was cyanide in the wallpaper ink that did for poor old Boney over there”. The compact Frenchman in question appeared resigned to the issue but Nico Machiavelli whispered a correction, “cyanide”.
“Inheritance powder, is what we used to call that” chided Madame Curie as her smile quivered at the edges. Anna Seacole looked out of the window languidly and then focussed back to the paint, commenting “Walls used to be more interesting back then, even on tents. I hear now you can hardly see the paint for Star Wars decals in most kids’ bedrooms”.
Gertrude Bell seemed to be locked in a staring contest with the wall but in reality her eyes had glazed over several decades ago and she was being propped up discreetly by T.E. Lawrence and Clive of India.
Marco Polo wasn’t listening either, tuned out and absorbed as he was with the wet wall in front of him. The sun finally dropped and rapt attention wrapped harder around the audience. Eyes bored.
CAUTION. WET PAINT.
Biggles stood up and shuffled closer to the inaction, upsetting those who said he was getting in the way of the view. They’d been surprised enough to find out that he was a real person but now this impertinence capped it all; and Julius Caesar spoke for all of them with a “Quiz decorum est?”
“Back on the ship”, said Magellan, I used to imagine the heavens were an endless expanse of fresh paintwork, approaching the tacky stage at the edges where they curled down into the seas.” Rameses nodded crankily to royally endorse a shared experience, then the more aesthetic of the others, their eyes still attending the settling paint nodded in solidarity with the image the explorer had presented.
“I thought the stars were numbers” mentioned Archimedes, before he got waved down. “Painted numbers, obviously” he supplemented to little effect, before abandoning the conversation altogether. Picasso’s eyes toured a weary arch across the heavens but no doves were out this evening.
The thing is, heroes and other extremely high achieving mortals have very unusually, very particularly, very, very exciting lives. Sometimes they have short lives but even those are very, very exciting. When the mightiest conquerors, the most inflamed thinkers and unbelievably hard working discoverers do drop off the perch and come to claim their eternal reward, in a dimension where nothing is material, what they really want above all other things is glorious rest, peace and quiet. Dull is the new perfect. There are isolation tanks nowadays and you might even find yourself some day in zero gravity but although quiet, neither of those things are comfortable; but there is watching paint dry, which works much better.
“It’s building up to the good bit”, announced Nefertiti. “See? It’s getting ever so slightly sticky and if you get a hair in it now, you’ll mess up everything when you try to pick it back out”. Machiavelli had a dagger for work like that but didn’t say because Alexander Fleming had temporarily borrowed it.
“How long before it’s ready for another coat?” asked Ernest Hemmingway, but Shakespeare pointedly ignored him, as a drooping P.T. Barnum went 12 points ahead crossing ‘lethargy’ and ‘inactive’ at Scrabble. The showman’s hat fell off and rolled away, increasing the pleasure of those behind who had been trying to spectate around it. “We could ask again in a week or two”, Hemmingway suggested.
“Or do the work yourself for a change”, scolded Marie Antoinette.
“I just love this stage”, Mohammed Ali interrupted. “Look how the brush strokes like the veins in a butterfly’s wing seep in and merge tiny furrows together into a perfectly even surface. It’s like gravity, but sideways. What an adventure.”
“Hey y ’all, if we flick a speck o’ grit on that they’ll need to sand it down in the mornin’ and start the whole thing over again. What say?” This suggestion by Calamity Jane, or perhaps she was Annie Oakley because they wore the same hat, sparked a murmur of agreement in the throng.
“It’s still not dried. We’ve got at least another three hours” protested Leonardo, willing them all to stay. He needn’t have bothered because they weren’t going anywhere. Unseen but fervently admired, a few more watery molecules evaporated from the surface of the paint.
Farther up the metaphorical mountain of eternal and exquisite boredom, which happened to be, also metaphorically, situated far up in a torpid sky, according to the most ancient of legends from the dawning of time, there is a unique place for those super-rare and precious few heroes whose unbelievably energetic accomplishments qualify them for an experience even less exciting and more fabulously dull than watching paint dry. What this reward might be, only the transcendental scribes of the Universe can hint at – and they’re not telling, but there is hope of an answer if you ask around the more attentive of seekers.
See how your attention turns to the seldom noticed errand-boy who serves this little niche of heaven, whose obligation it is to descend from the mountain once in an age and drop to the surface of the Earth, whereupon he crosses the threshold of a bookshop with a shining fifty pee coin out of petty cash, reaches into the remainders basket and traipses back up to provision those in the silent sanctum, the only place of its kind, to feed the ultimate, unadulterated epicentre of boring in the Universe with the perfect fit for their requirements: Ken Clarke’s autobiography.
July 7, 2021
A surprisingly breezy 500-page read that provides an affable account of Clarke's perspectives on his 46 years in the Commons (at the time of publication). That said, this isn't a very introspective or writerly account -- likely a product of the fact that Clarke dictated the whole book and didn't seem to spend much time wordsmithing after the fact. I wished he'd delved a bit deeper into key moments and personalities -- but he had a lot of ground to cover! I only wish he'd waited until 2020 or later to write this memoir -- his break with the party in 2019 (and removal of the whip) was arguably the most dramatic moment of his long career.
April 16, 2020
I don't agree with lots of what Ken Clarke thinks, but this was an insightful and informative book about British politics. This has helped me to understand the motivation behind many decisions that shaped Britain and why it is like it is today.
It has encouraged me to read more books like this in the future and hopefully has improved my knowledge of political history and the way the government and its departments work.
It has encouraged me to read more books like this in the future and hopefully has improved my knowledge of political history and the way the government and its departments work.
March 7, 2018
This is the kind of book which makes you thankful that there are, or is it were, some people in a parliament that still speak with common sense. It also shows that the problems in the Conservative party are not unique to the current time. Well worth reading, whatever party you support this is a very well written book which I predict you will finish, glad to have know Ken Clarke!
March 6, 2017
The title of Ken Clarke's autobiography Kind Of Blue describes his political position within the Conservative Party. He was an admirer of Thatcher but was never a Thatcherite. He is a one-nation Liberal Conservative. Clarke was the last Chancellor of the Exchequer to raise income tax, he is pro-European, he opposed the Gulf War and advocated more liberal reforms in sentencing and prisons. Ken Clarke was quite a popular politician with cross-over appeal who rightly believed (in my opinion) that the political centre-ground represented the interests of the majority of the electorate. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown understood this too. In fact, for three years, the New Labour Government retained the spending limits imposed by Clarke as Chancellor of the Exchequer. I am a lifelong Labour Party supporter and would describe myself as being in the New Labour camp. Personally, I like Ken Clarke and admire his intelligence and style (if that's what you call it !). I also firmly share his view that a British Government should occupy the centre-ground of British politics. Like other popular Conservatives of his ilk (Heseltine, Davies and Boris) he was destined never to be the leader of his party. What I like about Ken Clarke above all, is that he has always been independent minded. His autobiography is a good read but sometimes it appears too descriptive with a lack of depth and insight into the personalities involved and there is little comment about his personal life. Anybody who has taken an active interest in politics from the 1970s onwards will be aware of much that is written in his memoir. Nevertheless, Clarke's jovial personality, intelligence and genuineness comes out of the pages which a good autobiography should do.
My rating: 4/5.
My rating: 4/5.
November 12, 2017
An accomplished, and at times very interesting, political memoir from a politician who said he would never write a memoir. No surprises here, but why would there be, from one of the few politicians of any party who is instantly recognisable by the public, and whose views are well known by everyone – or so we the public think. There is a bit too much I Was Right All Along, but you always get that with political memoirs. Ken Clarke seems, it emerges from this book, to have been oddly distant from most of his family for most of his life. His marriage, he says, was a long and happy one. He mentions outings with his son during the latter’s boyhood, and says family holidays were always enjoyed, but nothing more. This is contrary to the public image Ken Clarke has always had, but then this is true for almost all politicians.
He is not perhaps a very complex political thinker, but complexity is not a virtue in a politician. He is not dull, and dullness is most certainly a vice in one. He is an admirer of Iain Macleod, who was Foreign Secretary at the end of Empire, and who was criticised, Clarke says, for giving the British Empire away, which he says had to be done “if we were to avoid the post-colonial wars in which the French had been immersed”. Well, I guess. But we did have them, in Malaya and Cyprus, and Burma wasn’t exactly a bed of roses, and there was that little matter of Partition in India, and – oh, please yourselves.
On Europe, of course, Ken’s position is clear and well known, and he has never wavered from it. (Not always a good sign in a potential political leader: ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jeremy Corbyn). Ken Clarke is the go-to pro-European Tory, and that being so it is perhaps surprising that he has been in Tory governments as much as he has. Here at least he has the benefit of clarity, and it is welcome: “People had been told that the Community was intended to be a free-trade area only, without any political commitments. This is wholly without foundation; a total fiction.” Thanks, Ken. That’s how I remember it too.
He can be patronising, especially to women: the In Place of Strife debate “did succeed in bringing the best out of Mrs Castle as a parliamentary performer”, which seems at best unfair to Barbara.
The title, ‘Kind of Blue’, is a splendid one for the memoir of a jazz-loving Tory who has often seemed semi-detached from the party. But of course he never was so. He was, and remains, a true Tory. Another reviewer has remarked that his memoir shows Clarke, surprisingly to the reviewer, to “lack empathy for the poor”. Well, of course he does. He’s a Tory, innit.
“The Thatcher government never cut public spending on any mainstream public service such as health, education or welfare”, he proudly asserts. If he says so, and in monetary terms I am quite sure that this is true. But it is not how it felt at the time.
He can be waspish. He appears to have got on rather well personally with Margaret Thatcher, despite their sometime differences and their avowed occasional stand-up rows. He says his losses of temper on those occasions were acting, as his temperament is too equable for them to have been real. And also that “Margaret Thatcher was always very lucky in her political opponents.”
On the NHS (after all he was Health Secretary for quite a long time), he says “there would be riots if we were plunged back now into an NHS that looked as it did in the 1980s”. Probably true. But that would also arguably be true of a lot of other aspects of society in the 1980s – when there were quite a lot of actual riots. But for myself, having lived outside the UK now for over 10 years and experienced a health service which is probably the best in the world (the French), I’m quite surprised nobody riots now at the abominable care they receive.
He points out, perhaps rather irritatedly, that his shoes are not Hush Puppies, but are hand made by Crockett and Jones in Northamptonshire. Shoes are often an issue in politics (leaving aside the current prime minister) – I had some yellow Clarks suede desert boots I was rather fond of at one time when I was an MP, and used to wear them when out knocking doors as they were comfortable and took me many miles with never an itch or a rub or a blister, and was roundly castigated by the local LibDems for wearing them. I was never quite sure why. I always liked them. I wish I still had them now.
A word on Ken Clarke the politician – we were colleagues in the House, and although we never had anything much to do with each other he always knew my name when we passed in the corridor – and why should he know the name of a humble and obscure Labour (then in government) back-bencher? Well, because politics. Fibromyalgia is a health issue which is a very severe and debilitating one for those who suffer, and there are many local support groups for sufferers, usually membered by the sufferers themselves and their immediate families. I was often surprised by the energy and fortitude displayed by the fibromyalgia lobby, this being the case. The two strongest local fibromyalgia support groups in England were in Reading (which I represented) and in Nottingham (which Ken did). I therefore found myself chairing the group, and most of its meetings. True to form, the other Reading MP, Martin Salter, trumpeted in the Reading media that he was “spearheading” the lobby for fibromyalgia sufferers. However, Salter was so rarely in the House, choosing to spend most of his time in the Reading constituency that I and not he represented (the reasons for that are a matter for mental health practitioners rather than for politicians I fancy) that he did not actually attend any of the meetings. Ken Clarke also rarely attended, but he had better excuses, with front-bench and other responsibilities Mr Salter has never had. Whenever he could not attend he would put “on the board” (an actual pinboard at the time that MPs could use to send each other direct written communications) for me any communications from his constituents he thought relevant for the meeting, always with a handwritten compliment slip from Ken. Good politics, man. The other Nottingham MPs were similarly assiduous, but it was only from Ken that I got the “on-the-board” letters – and these are delivered personally to the Member addressed, by the House badge messengers, rather than going through the internal mail system office to office.
Of his time at the Ministry of Justice, which seems not to have been a very happy one, he notes that all three of his challengers on law and order matters, namely David Cameron’s erstwhile director of communications Andy Coulson, Michael Howard’s former special adviser at the Home Office Patrick Rock, and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, have faced criminal charges: Of the three, only Brooks was acquitted: Coulson did time and Rock has been convicted on child pornography charges. I suspect a very sweet moment or moments for Ken.
He doesn’t have that much to say about the Brexit referendum, perhaps wisely. His position is well known, and has always been clear. Always an advantage for a politician. He does describe David Cameron’s decision to hold the referendum, which he says he discovered by reading about it in the newspapers in January 2013, as “reckless and irresponsible”. Which, of course, it was.
Ken Clarke doesn’t have much to say about the illness and death from cancer (lymphoma) of his wife Gillian. Perhaps rightly. He does say that when she died, in July 2015, a few hours after a bedside gathering of himself, his son and daughter, and his granddaughter, “We were devastated by the loss but I think that I was made closer to my children and grandchild by our bereavement.” Not much of a loving tribute to Gillian, I churlishly surmise. And is it my nasty suspicious mind, but WHAT does he mean by this: “I had lost my lifelong companion and beloved wife who had been so important to me in her more active days.” Is there more to come? Does Ken suspect there is?
He ends, self-importantly, with the Hansard of his speech in the Brexit debate. But then again, why shouldn’t he?
Ken Clarke is a kind of National Treasure. He knows this, and has built himself up to it over the decades. I’m not sure if he meant to shore up that image with this memoir. Perhaps he doesn’t care. It’s an interesting read, and sometimes a very entertaining one. I am sure it will be cited, in years to come. I am not sure it will ever be a political science text or a sourcebook. But then, why should it?
He is not perhaps a very complex political thinker, but complexity is not a virtue in a politician. He is not dull, and dullness is most certainly a vice in one. He is an admirer of Iain Macleod, who was Foreign Secretary at the end of Empire, and who was criticised, Clarke says, for giving the British Empire away, which he says had to be done “if we were to avoid the post-colonial wars in which the French had been immersed”. Well, I guess. But we did have them, in Malaya and Cyprus, and Burma wasn’t exactly a bed of roses, and there was that little matter of Partition in India, and – oh, please yourselves.
On Europe, of course, Ken’s position is clear and well known, and he has never wavered from it. (Not always a good sign in a potential political leader: ladies and gentlemen, I give you Jeremy Corbyn). Ken Clarke is the go-to pro-European Tory, and that being so it is perhaps surprising that he has been in Tory governments as much as he has. Here at least he has the benefit of clarity, and it is welcome: “People had been told that the Community was intended to be a free-trade area only, without any political commitments. This is wholly without foundation; a total fiction.” Thanks, Ken. That’s how I remember it too.
He can be patronising, especially to women: the In Place of Strife debate “did succeed in bringing the best out of Mrs Castle as a parliamentary performer”, which seems at best unfair to Barbara.
The title, ‘Kind of Blue’, is a splendid one for the memoir of a jazz-loving Tory who has often seemed semi-detached from the party. But of course he never was so. He was, and remains, a true Tory. Another reviewer has remarked that his memoir shows Clarke, surprisingly to the reviewer, to “lack empathy for the poor”. Well, of course he does. He’s a Tory, innit.
“The Thatcher government never cut public spending on any mainstream public service such as health, education or welfare”, he proudly asserts. If he says so, and in monetary terms I am quite sure that this is true. But it is not how it felt at the time.
He can be waspish. He appears to have got on rather well personally with Margaret Thatcher, despite their sometime differences and their avowed occasional stand-up rows. He says his losses of temper on those occasions were acting, as his temperament is too equable for them to have been real. And also that “Margaret Thatcher was always very lucky in her political opponents.”
On the NHS (after all he was Health Secretary for quite a long time), he says “there would be riots if we were plunged back now into an NHS that looked as it did in the 1980s”. Probably true. But that would also arguably be true of a lot of other aspects of society in the 1980s – when there were quite a lot of actual riots. But for myself, having lived outside the UK now for over 10 years and experienced a health service which is probably the best in the world (the French), I’m quite surprised nobody riots now at the abominable care they receive.
He points out, perhaps rather irritatedly, that his shoes are not Hush Puppies, but are hand made by Crockett and Jones in Northamptonshire. Shoes are often an issue in politics (leaving aside the current prime minister) – I had some yellow Clarks suede desert boots I was rather fond of at one time when I was an MP, and used to wear them when out knocking doors as they were comfortable and took me many miles with never an itch or a rub or a blister, and was roundly castigated by the local LibDems for wearing them. I was never quite sure why. I always liked them. I wish I still had them now.
A word on Ken Clarke the politician – we were colleagues in the House, and although we never had anything much to do with each other he always knew my name when we passed in the corridor – and why should he know the name of a humble and obscure Labour (then in government) back-bencher? Well, because politics. Fibromyalgia is a health issue which is a very severe and debilitating one for those who suffer, and there are many local support groups for sufferers, usually membered by the sufferers themselves and their immediate families. I was often surprised by the energy and fortitude displayed by the fibromyalgia lobby, this being the case. The two strongest local fibromyalgia support groups in England were in Reading (which I represented) and in Nottingham (which Ken did). I therefore found myself chairing the group, and most of its meetings. True to form, the other Reading MP, Martin Salter, trumpeted in the Reading media that he was “spearheading” the lobby for fibromyalgia sufferers. However, Salter was so rarely in the House, choosing to spend most of his time in the Reading constituency that I and not he represented (the reasons for that are a matter for mental health practitioners rather than for politicians I fancy) that he did not actually attend any of the meetings. Ken Clarke also rarely attended, but he had better excuses, with front-bench and other responsibilities Mr Salter has never had. Whenever he could not attend he would put “on the board” (an actual pinboard at the time that MPs could use to send each other direct written communications) for me any communications from his constituents he thought relevant for the meeting, always with a handwritten compliment slip from Ken. Good politics, man. The other Nottingham MPs were similarly assiduous, but it was only from Ken that I got the “on-the-board” letters – and these are delivered personally to the Member addressed, by the House badge messengers, rather than going through the internal mail system office to office.
Of his time at the Ministry of Justice, which seems not to have been a very happy one, he notes that all three of his challengers on law and order matters, namely David Cameron’s erstwhile director of communications Andy Coulson, Michael Howard’s former special adviser at the Home Office Patrick Rock, and former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, have faced criminal charges: Of the three, only Brooks was acquitted: Coulson did time and Rock has been convicted on child pornography charges. I suspect a very sweet moment or moments for Ken.
He doesn’t have that much to say about the Brexit referendum, perhaps wisely. His position is well known, and has always been clear. Always an advantage for a politician. He does describe David Cameron’s decision to hold the referendum, which he says he discovered by reading about it in the newspapers in January 2013, as “reckless and irresponsible”. Which, of course, it was.
Ken Clarke doesn’t have much to say about the illness and death from cancer (lymphoma) of his wife Gillian. Perhaps rightly. He does say that when she died, in July 2015, a few hours after a bedside gathering of himself, his son and daughter, and his granddaughter, “We were devastated by the loss but I think that I was made closer to my children and grandchild by our bereavement.” Not much of a loving tribute to Gillian, I churlishly surmise. And is it my nasty suspicious mind, but WHAT does he mean by this: “I had lost my lifelong companion and beloved wife who had been so important to me in her more active days.” Is there more to come? Does Ken suspect there is?
He ends, self-importantly, with the Hansard of his speech in the Brexit debate. But then again, why shouldn’t he?
Ken Clarke is a kind of National Treasure. He knows this, and has built himself up to it over the decades. I’m not sure if he meant to shore up that image with this memoir. Perhaps he doesn’t care. It’s an interesting read, and sometimes a very entertaining one. I am sure it will be cited, in years to come. I am not sure it will ever be a political science text or a sourcebook. But then, why should it?
August 25, 2017
Read as part of project ‘Understand the Right’ - an occasional series.
Generally a little underwhelming and flakey. One of the things I look forward to in autobiographies and biographies is the formative story and the early years; one of the things I loved about the Charles Moore Thatcher Volume 1 was the emergence of this odd, particular character. Here, we’re at Ken Clarke’s selection as an MP within the first dozen pages, it feels, with little of that foundation. There’s a sense, even, that Clarke might have ended up in any other party.
Once up and running, it’s pretty passable and occasionally funny - and a good account of the daftness of the seventies and ultimate necessity (I confess, as a centre left type) of a large chunk of Thatcherism, frankly. I mean: Scargill. Eff eff ess.
What dominated for me was the sense of how boring and legalistic - despite the drama - politics must be. I’ve always loved the maxim about politics being ‘showbiz for ugly people’. What you realise with this is that it’s ‘ugly people… with a remarkable patience for meetings, processes and paperwork’. I just could not do it and I marvel at the sheer oddness of people who crave that. The parade of grey men of standing can be exhausting - all those dreary Bernards, Michaels, Malcolms and Geoffreys. That said, in our present era of Old Men with Thirteen Year Olds’ Political Brains, they now of course look like titans.
Some nice flashes of principle - on democracy, accountability, the market economy and human rights - and several wonderful assaults on the referendum as a device in democracies (clue: it’s a fucking disgrace). I also enjoyed his discussion of the NHS and commentary on how for its entire history the Tories have been accused of trying to privatise it. His stance on Europe and reprinted speech are what matters, ultimately. When The Brexit-era 'Guilty Men' is published, he should write the foreword.
Alongside that, plenty of inadvertent comedy. One of the early cues that this might be a little flaky is the admission that it’s been transcribed from late night Dictaphone recordings - and the repetitions and chatty cliche sure prove that. Lots of ‘wading through treacle’; every late night chat is a ‘setting the world to rights’. Meanwhile, a touch of Partridge in the rather over-told love of jazz and birdwatching. And Gillian...well, Gillian - not to sound too harsh - could not be more Bland Tory Wife (quilting and charity).
Likeable, but disappointing.
Generally a little underwhelming and flakey. One of the things I look forward to in autobiographies and biographies is the formative story and the early years; one of the things I loved about the Charles Moore Thatcher Volume 1 was the emergence of this odd, particular character. Here, we’re at Ken Clarke’s selection as an MP within the first dozen pages, it feels, with little of that foundation. There’s a sense, even, that Clarke might have ended up in any other party.
Once up and running, it’s pretty passable and occasionally funny - and a good account of the daftness of the seventies and ultimate necessity (I confess, as a centre left type) of a large chunk of Thatcherism, frankly. I mean: Scargill. Eff eff ess.
What dominated for me was the sense of how boring and legalistic - despite the drama - politics must be. I’ve always loved the maxim about politics being ‘showbiz for ugly people’. What you realise with this is that it’s ‘ugly people… with a remarkable patience for meetings, processes and paperwork’. I just could not do it and I marvel at the sheer oddness of people who crave that. The parade of grey men of standing can be exhausting - all those dreary Bernards, Michaels, Malcolms and Geoffreys. That said, in our present era of Old Men with Thirteen Year Olds’ Political Brains, they now of course look like titans.
Some nice flashes of principle - on democracy, accountability, the market economy and human rights - and several wonderful assaults on the referendum as a device in democracies (clue: it’s a fucking disgrace). I also enjoyed his discussion of the NHS and commentary on how for its entire history the Tories have been accused of trying to privatise it. His stance on Europe and reprinted speech are what matters, ultimately. When The Brexit-era 'Guilty Men' is published, he should write the foreword.
Alongside that, plenty of inadvertent comedy. One of the early cues that this might be a little flaky is the admission that it’s been transcribed from late night Dictaphone recordings - and the repetitions and chatty cliche sure prove that. Lots of ‘wading through treacle’; every late night chat is a ‘setting the world to rights’. Meanwhile, a touch of Partridge in the rather over-told love of jazz and birdwatching. And Gillian...well, Gillian - not to sound too harsh - could not be more Bland Tory Wife (quilting and charity).
Likeable, but disappointing.
November 19, 2017
Ken Clarke started his political activism in the early sixties to campaign for Britain to join the then EC (EU), he is now towards the end of his political career watching Britain embark on possibly the most critical moment in its history with Brexit. Clarke has been opposed to Brexit, and is still advocating the need for a softer Brexit, as the final chapter highlights.
A political giant over a career spanning 50 years, an advocate of One Nation Conservatism, a passionate Tory Europhile and someone who served as Secretary of State of two 'great offices of state’ (Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary), ken Clarke is no small fish.
Clarke uses his biography to give a frank and honest assessment of his political career, whether it was his view on the ugly government offices he would have to work in, his view of his political allies and adversaries and his general love for cigars, jazz, birdwatching and his family. A man who never yielded to political, popular or PR pressure, he is, and was a rare breed of a politician who wasn’t determined to climb the greasy pole of politics but more determined to make his worth on the jobs he was tasked with.
Clarke is constantly humorous and candid throughout the book, he recalls he was candid towards his Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and despite his reservations over her bullying and brash ways, he’d rather deal with that sort of leader as PM than the likes of Blair and Cameron. Clarke throughout his book never was petty, delusional and point scoring. It is obvious that the brand of politics Clarke held would have suited the era of Macmillan or Douglas-Home. Despite being branded as a “wet” and “not enough Tory” by his own leadership, Clarke’s contribution has been immense. His roles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor, Home Secretary, Secretary for Health and Secretary of Education left some sort of legacy, major or minor.
Ken Clarke is one of those old-school politicians whose image is no image, a rare breed in this age. Thoroughly, a great read.
A political giant over a career spanning 50 years, an advocate of One Nation Conservatism, a passionate Tory Europhile and someone who served as Secretary of State of two 'great offices of state’ (Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary), ken Clarke is no small fish.
Clarke uses his biography to give a frank and honest assessment of his political career, whether it was his view on the ugly government offices he would have to work in, his view of his political allies and adversaries and his general love for cigars, jazz, birdwatching and his family. A man who never yielded to political, popular or PR pressure, he is, and was a rare breed of a politician who wasn’t determined to climb the greasy pole of politics but more determined to make his worth on the jobs he was tasked with.
Clarke is constantly humorous and candid throughout the book, he recalls he was candid towards his Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and despite his reservations over her bullying and brash ways, he’d rather deal with that sort of leader as PM than the likes of Blair and Cameron. Clarke throughout his book never was petty, delusional and point scoring. It is obvious that the brand of politics Clarke held would have suited the era of Macmillan or Douglas-Home. Despite being branded as a “wet” and “not enough Tory” by his own leadership, Clarke’s contribution has been immense. His roles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor, Home Secretary, Secretary for Health and Secretary of Education left some sort of legacy, major or minor.
Ken Clarke is one of those old-school politicians whose image is no image, a rare breed in this age. Thoroughly, a great read.
March 25, 2017
A highly enjoyable meander through Ken Clarke's long and successful career, told with his characteristic cheerful good humour. Historic events and political crises bounce off him without leaving a scratch, as he continues his untroubled rise to the heights of British politics. Those seeking agonised soul-searching and pensive reflections on the future of humanity will be disappointed - this is the relaxed memoir of a man who seems contented with his lot in life and his place in history, generally with good reason. It is a fireside chat of a book, told through clouds of cigar smoke with a brandy in hand - unsurprisingly, given this was indeed how it was dictated, the author tells us. If he has more profound feelings of disappointment at never reaching the highest office, or on the tragic loss of his loyal and dutiful wife, they remain mostly hidden. Such restraint may have become rarer in the field of political autobiography in modern times, but Ken Clarke is an increasingly rare sort of politician.
May 17, 2025
Absolute cinema
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2017
Ken Clarke is one of those old-school politicians whose image is no image, very carefully maintained. His famously cavalier approach to his personal appearance, his forthrightness and self-deprecation, have made him one of the few immediately-recognisable Members of the U.K. Parliament for almost the whole of the 47 years in which he has sat there, and certainly since he entered the Cabinet in the 1980s. A liberally-minded, pragmatic Conservative, he is a very attractive figure, liked by almost everyone in politics except the more doctrinaire and partisan elements both of his own party and their opponents.
All of these aspects of the man are present in this memoir, which is an accessible, candid, and - for the most part - modest account of the career and achievements of someone who has spent more time in senior office than anybody else currently in the House of Commons. Fascinating anecdotes light up what could have been a conventional account of, say, university life, in particular one incident in which the liberal Clarke found himself in conflict with his friend, Michael Howard - later to become a right-wing Home Secretary - over a decision to invite the former British fascist leader Oswald Mosley as a guest speaker: Clarke was in favour, Howard so vehemently opposed that he temporarily joined the Labour Party !
Pen-portraits of colleagues in government are sparing but effective, and in some places quite uncompromising (I think it fair to say that Clarke neither approved of nor much liked his near-namesake Alan Clark...) As the Prime Minister with whom he served longest, Margaret Thatcher receives a decent measure of appraisal, most of it positive, including the observation made by everyone else who worked closely with her that, in practice, she was far from the ideologically-driven demagogue of popular Left legend, but far more inclined to consult and worry about policy initiatives - right up until her disastrous foray into local taxation.
As Secretary of State for a number of important departments during Mrs Thatcher's reforming governments, Clarke was responsible for formulating and pushing through many changes in the public sector, and of his part in this he is justifiably proud. As has been the case with every Health Secretary since the 1940s, his attempts to alleviate the structural problems of the National Health Service were only partly successful, largely because nobody - himself included - has ever been willing to change radically the system of funding this behemoth of welfare provision. However, as a solution to a pay dispute with ambulance crews in the late 1980s he insisted that in order to warrant salary regrading they should all train as paramedics, with the result that this is now a primary requirement of recruitment to the ambulance service. The number of lives which must have been saved as a result I would suggest is significant, and is in itself a fine legacy for the Secretary of State responsible.
As he states in the Epilogue to this book, Ken Clarke began his career implementing UK accession to the then-European Economic Community, and is ending it serving in the Parliament which will oversee the country's withdrawal from the European Union. Obviously, he is bitterly disappointed at this, but seems unable to acknowledge that this state of affairs has not come about merely, as he alleges, because of the malice of "the right wing press" and the bitter ignorance of 'Eurosceptic' backwoodsmen in his own party, but rather because both of these categories of people were able to see a distrust of and alienation towards 'Europe' growing among ordinary British voters and sought, successfully, to articulate this. Certainly, Clarke's own accounts of meetings and discussions with EU-supporting politicians and civil servants from other member countries sound *exactly* like those of a cosy elite or freemasonry which considers what it does to be in the interests of the commonalty, whether those plebs like it or not.
I think it was Enoch Powell who once remarked that all political careers end in failure, but even with the collapse of his beloved European project, Ken Clarke does not give the impression of a man downhearted, probably because he knows that, for all the reverses, he has done his best, and he's done it for nearly 50 years. That actually sounds like success.
All of these aspects of the man are present in this memoir, which is an accessible, candid, and - for the most part - modest account of the career and achievements of someone who has spent more time in senior office than anybody else currently in the House of Commons. Fascinating anecdotes light up what could have been a conventional account of, say, university life, in particular one incident in which the liberal Clarke found himself in conflict with his friend, Michael Howard - later to become a right-wing Home Secretary - over a decision to invite the former British fascist leader Oswald Mosley as a guest speaker: Clarke was in favour, Howard so vehemently opposed that he temporarily joined the Labour Party !
Pen-portraits of colleagues in government are sparing but effective, and in some places quite uncompromising (I think it fair to say that Clarke neither approved of nor much liked his near-namesake Alan Clark...) As the Prime Minister with whom he served longest, Margaret Thatcher receives a decent measure of appraisal, most of it positive, including the observation made by everyone else who worked closely with her that, in practice, she was far from the ideologically-driven demagogue of popular Left legend, but far more inclined to consult and worry about policy initiatives - right up until her disastrous foray into local taxation.
As Secretary of State for a number of important departments during Mrs Thatcher's reforming governments, Clarke was responsible for formulating and pushing through many changes in the public sector, and of his part in this he is justifiably proud. As has been the case with every Health Secretary since the 1940s, his attempts to alleviate the structural problems of the National Health Service were only partly successful, largely because nobody - himself included - has ever been willing to change radically the system of funding this behemoth of welfare provision. However, as a solution to a pay dispute with ambulance crews in the late 1980s he insisted that in order to warrant salary regrading they should all train as paramedics, with the result that this is now a primary requirement of recruitment to the ambulance service. The number of lives which must have been saved as a result I would suggest is significant, and is in itself a fine legacy for the Secretary of State responsible.
As he states in the Epilogue to this book, Ken Clarke began his career implementing UK accession to the then-European Economic Community, and is ending it serving in the Parliament which will oversee the country's withdrawal from the European Union. Obviously, he is bitterly disappointed at this, but seems unable to acknowledge that this state of affairs has not come about merely, as he alleges, because of the malice of "the right wing press" and the bitter ignorance of 'Eurosceptic' backwoodsmen in his own party, but rather because both of these categories of people were able to see a distrust of and alienation towards 'Europe' growing among ordinary British voters and sought, successfully, to articulate this. Certainly, Clarke's own accounts of meetings and discussions with EU-supporting politicians and civil servants from other member countries sound *exactly* like those of a cosy elite or freemasonry which considers what it does to be in the interests of the commonalty, whether those plebs like it or not.
I think it was Enoch Powell who once remarked that all political careers end in failure, but even with the collapse of his beloved European project, Ken Clarke does not give the impression of a man downhearted, probably because he knows that, for all the reverses, he has done his best, and he's done it for nearly 50 years. That actually sounds like success.
July 2, 2020
When I discovered that Ken Clarke had actually narrated this book and it was available on Audible, I chose to listen to the great man tell his own story in his own voice, and it was highly rewarding. As well as lending the book an added richness, Clarke's voice is particularly easy on the ear.
What of the book itself? This is a great memoir that is primarily political in nature, although Clarke does provide some backstory to his upbringing and how he came to be involved in politics. He warns the reader at the start that he doesn't like to mix too much of the private with the public, but he nevertheless offers enough detail about his personal life to make you feel as though you have got to know the man as well as the politician.
The grand sweep of his political life starts from the UK entering the EEC and ends with the UK leaving what since became the EU. In between, Clarke held almost all of the most significant positions in government and had a fair crack at becoming leader of the Tory party more than once. He worked directly with all of the Tory PMs of the modern era: Heath, Thatcher, Major and Cameron (the book ends at the point of May becoming PM). His insights are measured, surprisingly forensic in places and often highly entertaining. There is a great balance here between political content and Ken's own wry sense of humour, which makes it all the more pleasurable to read.
Ken Clarke is perhaps a politician of an era now passed. He rails against the obsessive media-management style of politics brought in during the Blair era and is unashamedly robust about everything he believes in, from market economics to liberalising law and order reforms. Rather than shying away from his business roles, he stoutly defends them all, including his association with tobacco (he is a famously proud smoker of cigars). Clarke is also even handed in his assessments of those he has worked with. Die-hard Thatcherites have always had their suspicions about Clarke, but he is entirely open about his admiration and respect for Thatcher, describing his time serving in her administration as the best of his political life. While he disagreed with her fundamentally on the subject of Britain's relationship with Europe, he nevertheless supported and broadly agreed with her economic reforms, citing those as the most significant achievements of any PM in his lifetime.
Ken's pro-European views are well known and he asserts them frequently throughout the book. Indeed the thread of Europe runs from start to finish and it is hard not to feel a little sad at the book's epilogue as Clarke expresses his own sadness at the way things turned out during the 2016 referendum campaign and subsequently. Whatever one's own personal views on the matter, Clarke's enthusiasm for the EU and international co-operation cannot fail to rub off a little, making the books denouement a moment of melancholy.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Clarke's political memoir, the experience all the more enhanced by hearing him narrate it in his own voice.
What of the book itself? This is a great memoir that is primarily political in nature, although Clarke does provide some backstory to his upbringing and how he came to be involved in politics. He warns the reader at the start that he doesn't like to mix too much of the private with the public, but he nevertheless offers enough detail about his personal life to make you feel as though you have got to know the man as well as the politician.
The grand sweep of his political life starts from the UK entering the EEC and ends with the UK leaving what since became the EU. In between, Clarke held almost all of the most significant positions in government and had a fair crack at becoming leader of the Tory party more than once. He worked directly with all of the Tory PMs of the modern era: Heath, Thatcher, Major and Cameron (the book ends at the point of May becoming PM). His insights are measured, surprisingly forensic in places and often highly entertaining. There is a great balance here between political content and Ken's own wry sense of humour, which makes it all the more pleasurable to read.
Ken Clarke is perhaps a politician of an era now passed. He rails against the obsessive media-management style of politics brought in during the Blair era and is unashamedly robust about everything he believes in, from market economics to liberalising law and order reforms. Rather than shying away from his business roles, he stoutly defends them all, including his association with tobacco (he is a famously proud smoker of cigars). Clarke is also even handed in his assessments of those he has worked with. Die-hard Thatcherites have always had their suspicions about Clarke, but he is entirely open about his admiration and respect for Thatcher, describing his time serving in her administration as the best of his political life. While he disagreed with her fundamentally on the subject of Britain's relationship with Europe, he nevertheless supported and broadly agreed with her economic reforms, citing those as the most significant achievements of any PM in his lifetime.
Ken's pro-European views are well known and he asserts them frequently throughout the book. Indeed the thread of Europe runs from start to finish and it is hard not to feel a little sad at the book's epilogue as Clarke expresses his own sadness at the way things turned out during the 2016 referendum campaign and subsequently. Whatever one's own personal views on the matter, Clarke's enthusiasm for the EU and international co-operation cannot fail to rub off a little, making the books denouement a moment of melancholy.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Clarke's political memoir, the experience all the more enhanced by hearing him narrate it in his own voice.
October 18, 2017
As an author there must be a nervous frisson of fearful anticipation of possible retribution when you mark a book down as simply terrible. But long serving Conservative politician Clarke,who I had always noted with a degree of approval, was a relatively casually dressed Jazz fan, and a seemingly affable blokey has with this appalling book turned himself into a self opinionated, self serving, credit claiming, ghastly figure deserving of disdain.
I even supported / still support some of the policies that his various elected Governments were apparently trying to achieve. I say apparently --as the only positive fact to emerge from this crescendo of conceit is that: 'More important than the policies', 'more important than the needs of the general public he was voted in to represent, serve and assist', 'more important than his colleagues' was :ME (that's HIM) and MY (HIS) RE-ELECTION. I am saddened and shocked to find my self having been taken in by 'Mr Affable' on his many TV appearances and by his speeches. Sorry. This is a vile -if revealing - book about an apparently totally egotistical person and politician. Yes, put Person first...Kenneth Clarke obviously thinks he is more important than both the politics and the needs of the people. For the record I probably would have voted Conservative but Mrs May's ill timed snap election on May 15 , coincided with my training for the British and Irish Lions Rugby tour of New Zealand. That training of course mainly involving sampling Guinness in the correct hemisphere.
I even supported / still support some of the policies that his various elected Governments were apparently trying to achieve. I say apparently --as the only positive fact to emerge from this crescendo of conceit is that: 'More important than the policies', 'more important than the needs of the general public he was voted in to represent, serve and assist', 'more important than his colleagues' was :ME (that's HIM) and MY (HIS) RE-ELECTION. I am saddened and shocked to find my self having been taken in by 'Mr Affable' on his many TV appearances and by his speeches. Sorry. This is a vile -if revealing - book about an apparently totally egotistical person and politician. Yes, put Person first...Kenneth Clarke obviously thinks he is more important than both the politics and the needs of the people. For the record I probably would have voted Conservative but Mrs May's ill timed snap election on May 15 , coincided with my training for the British and Irish Lions Rugby tour of New Zealand. That training of course mainly involving sampling Guinness in the correct hemisphere.
December 22, 2022
A hugely enjoyable account of the last 50 years of life in British politics. I am and never have been a Conservative supporter, but Clarke is such a voice of reason, flawed but with a deep sense of public duty and humanity its hard not to like him. In this chatty memoir he expresses his views on everything from fiscal responsibility to justice and the prison service, and, of course Europe. Given his simple beginnings and experience in the working world of the legal profession (a background modern politicians generally lack) we see how his character, a hard-tack pragmatic but sympathetic too might have been formed. He's arrogant, but admitts his mistakes too in dissmissing the CERN collider and the baffling particle, only to be overturned by scientist-by-training Thatcher, thankfully so! I'm still not a fan of Thatcher - too much water-under-the-bridge-for-me but am somewhat slightly softened though as post-PM she was very bitter and damaging holding court in the House of Lords ...injecting the poison, stiffening wobbly rebels. Ultimately Clarke, pro-European is very disappointed by the disastrous Brexit outcome and the damage done to Britain. We sense his disappointment.
But he's upbeat and I was left with Ken and the oft repeated phrase -a old friend of mine - good humoured, and with no reason to let political differences prevent friendly relations.
But he's upbeat and I was left with Ken and the oft repeated phrase -a old friend of mine - good humoured, and with no reason to let political differences prevent friendly relations.
December 25, 2016
This is an interesting biography or Ken Clarke, on of the more liberal Conservatives to hold high office in the UK in the last 30 years or so.
The book itself is readable I found, because I think that Clarke assumes the read doesn't want the minutiae of political arguments that were fought out 20 years or so ago, or what his childhood was like in too much detail. He would simply note that the argument (or element of his life) was about this or like that, before going on to explain why he did the thing that he did. The result that it rattles along well enough, but requires the reader to have an idea what the argument was about, and all willingness not to think "Ahh yes but..." too much.
All in all I would recommend the book, but I'd recommend that people bare in mind that it isn't "fair and balanced" going in, and more like a political manifesto about his life. The other thing worth noting is that the book is made of transcribed (and presumably subsequently edited) voice recordings made by Clarke. This gives the book a different feel I think, making it readable, but less "writey" in tone so people might want to consider the value of the book, given this fact going in. To me it didn't make a difference, but others might have another view.
The book itself is readable I found, because I think that Clarke assumes the read doesn't want the minutiae of political arguments that were fought out 20 years or so ago, or what his childhood was like in too much detail. He would simply note that the argument (or element of his life) was about this or like that, before going on to explain why he did the thing that he did. The result that it rattles along well enough, but requires the reader to have an idea what the argument was about, and all willingness not to think "Ahh yes but..." too much.
All in all I would recommend the book, but I'd recommend that people bare in mind that it isn't "fair and balanced" going in, and more like a political manifesto about his life. The other thing worth noting is that the book is made of transcribed (and presumably subsequently edited) voice recordings made by Clarke. This gives the book a different feel I think, making it readable, but less "writey" in tone so people might want to consider the value of the book, given this fact going in. To me it didn't make a difference, but others might have another view.
July 30, 2024
An interesting autobiography by one of the ‘big beasts’ of the modern British Conservative Party. Although this is subtitled a political memoir, Clarke opens its with a detailed account of his humble upbringing and education. The pace quickens as Clarke becomes an MP and the begins his ascent into government. There is much in this book which will interest political geeks, but one has the impression that Clarke joins a party which is at one with his political beliefs and by the end finds the party in its stampede to the Right has left him behind. Ultimately he never became leader of the Conservatives and given that he was no longer a mainstream right-wing Tory this is unsurprising. Ultimately this is a book which contributes to one’s understanding of the UK political landscape of the late 50 years and shows Clarke as an effective politician who held most of the UK’s main offices of State. He is also a decent man who closes the book with a final sentence which praise his wife, who predeceased him.
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December 5, 2020I read this in 2019, when perhaps my appetite for politics was slightly more than it is now. But you don't need a strong interest in politics to enjoy this. It is an entertaining trot through the fast-receding decades of the last century, told by someone with a seat in the front row - in Thatcher's cabinet, no less.
Mr Clarke is a dispassionate storyteller, highlighting events, and his own take on things, with casual charm. He is partial to an understatement. At one point, he skips by what the tabloids called 'the scandal of the century' - all the events attached to Jeremy Thorpe - with no more than a sentence making mention of a 'personal scandal', which makes it sound like mothing more than an affair with a secretary. This does not detract heavily from the book, however, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in 20th century history, and the working life of one of our most enduring statesmen.
Mr Clarke is a dispassionate storyteller, highlighting events, and his own take on things, with casual charm. He is partial to an understatement. At one point, he skips by what the tabloids called 'the scandal of the century' - all the events attached to Jeremy Thorpe - with no more than a sentence making mention of a 'personal scandal', which makes it sound like mothing more than an affair with a secretary. This does not detract heavily from the book, however, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in 20th century history, and the working life of one of our most enduring statesmen.
July 3, 2022
Unlike many politicians eg our current prime minister ,Kenneth Clarke has always had a very clear political identity ,pro European economically to the right but liberal on crime and other social issues.His politics and his political achievements are described in great detail within this autobiography and it has to be said Mr Clarke is no blushing violet when he comes to listing his apparent accomplishments though boasting about being responsible for the current structures of health and education is not a statement all would be proud of.Out of fairness there are at least three occasions when he does say he was wrong which is three times more than most politicians would say .
There is much of interest in this selective history of British politics of the last fifty years .However ,it does suffer from the author’s self admitted tendency to be ‘naturally garrulous’ which doesn’t seem to have been corrected by any editor and as a consequence the book really drags at times
There is much of interest in this selective history of British politics of the last fifty years .However ,it does suffer from the author’s self admitted tendency to be ‘naturally garrulous’ which doesn’t seem to have been corrected by any editor and as a consequence the book really drags at times
January 6, 2024
I was 12 years old when Margaret Thatcher came to power, so this book covers a large chunk of my life.
There's what we think we know about political events. These are formed from our information sources or, more accurately, disinformation sources.
The value in this book is that it is a view from inside the ring, not a ringside seat or even not even in the arena.
Sometimes Ken Clarke's self-belief is wearing. However, that is a quality necessary to be a successful barrister and politician. He comes from an age that was less obsessed with the opinions of the press and more focused on what they were trying to achieve.
The book dispels a few surprising myths.
I think the lesson here is to watch which policies an incoming government continues with that the opposition put in place when they were in power.
Also look at which policies a party is derided for that actually began when the opposition were in power.
There's what we think we know about political events. These are formed from our information sources or, more accurately, disinformation sources.
The value in this book is that it is a view from inside the ring, not a ringside seat or even not even in the arena.
Sometimes Ken Clarke's self-belief is wearing. However, that is a quality necessary to be a successful barrister and politician. He comes from an age that was less obsessed with the opinions of the press and more focused on what they were trying to achieve.
The book dispels a few surprising myths.
I think the lesson here is to watch which policies an incoming government continues with that the opposition put in place when they were in power.
Also look at which policies a party is derided for that actually began when the opposition were in power.
February 6, 2020
I went to the same school as Ken, and he has been my MP for 25 years.
His 50 years as an MP neatly coincided with the UK's joining and lately departure from the EU, so this autobiography gives a lucid account of that relationship. Ken has always been a strong advocate of UK membership - a position that cost him the top job.
The autobiography is stuffed with interesting stories from a long career in most of the important ministerial positions in government, told with warmth and humour.
It also traces the history of Euroscepticism in the UK Conservative party, reformation of public institutions, and the change in style from conviction politics to politics dominated by media-friendliness, soundbite and populism.
The book is an easy read that gives a fascinating insight into politics at its best and worst.
His 50 years as an MP neatly coincided with the UK's joining and lately departure from the EU, so this autobiography gives a lucid account of that relationship. Ken has always been a strong advocate of UK membership - a position that cost him the top job.
The autobiography is stuffed with interesting stories from a long career in most of the important ministerial positions in government, told with warmth and humour.
It also traces the history of Euroscepticism in the UK Conservative party, reformation of public institutions, and the change in style from conviction politics to politics dominated by media-friendliness, soundbite and populism.
The book is an easy read that gives a fascinating insight into politics at its best and worst.
December 3, 2017
An extremely readable canter through Ken Clarke’s perspective on political events of the last forty years or so. He and I overlapped in the Treasury in the wake of the ERM crisis and when he was introducing NHS reforms whilst I was in John Major’s office. His and Ken Baker’s education reforms also survived strongly through the Blunkett years when I was at Education. So this was mostly familiar stuff. A politician who has stuck to his principles, whether you agree with them or not, he is not afraid to catalogue failures and disappointments as well as where he feels progress was made. For some reason I was given three copies of this book. Two have probably been on sale in the New Ash Green Oxfam for quite some time now!
December 27, 2017
Really enjoyed this political tour de force from such a major Westminster figure, with some half a century in Parliament completed.
Clarke's passion is clearly problem-solving and the practical side of political management rather than ideological musings. Having been at the forefront of Thatcher and Major cabinets - and to some extent Cameron's - his wide-ranging experience in a range of ministries, from health to education and justice to the treasury, reveals a determination to take on vested interests on an almost frequent basis. Interestingly the BMA are sited as the most intransigent of professional bodies from a substantial list.
Also the biographical snippets of leading figures from the era are worth the read alone.
Highly recommended for politics junkies.
Clarke's passion is clearly problem-solving and the practical side of political management rather than ideological musings. Having been at the forefront of Thatcher and Major cabinets - and to some extent Cameron's - his wide-ranging experience in a range of ministries, from health to education and justice to the treasury, reveals a determination to take on vested interests on an almost frequent basis. Interestingly the BMA are sited as the most intransigent of professional bodies from a substantial list.
Also the biographical snippets of leading figures from the era are worth the read alone.
Highly recommended for politics junkies.
April 6, 2020
Excellent insight into an extraordinary life led at the heart of front-line politics. Having just retired after nearly 50 years as a Member of Parliament, the autobiography takes the reader on a wide-ranging journey from Ken Clarke's early days at Cambridge University, his entrance to Parliament, experiences and rise under the Heath, Thatcher and Major leaderships, the wilderness years and then finally a return to front-line Ministerial level under Cameron.
I can't think of any other politician better placed to offer such a comprehensive overview of the main political debates that have taken place during the past 50 years. Essential reading for any student or individual with a strong interest in UK politics.
I can't think of any other politician better placed to offer such a comprehensive overview of the main political debates that have taken place during the past 50 years. Essential reading for any student or individual with a strong interest in UK politics.
June 13, 2017
I have always been a big Ken Clarke admirer. He is one of my favorite politicians. I also identify with him in many ways not least in his political views. The book is a good read though with many insights that are worth noting. His descriptions regarding his time of the government of Margaret Thatcher is quite illuminating. It is also good on Tory divisions & reception on Europe especially on those regarding the Maastrict Treaty.
What it lacks as a book is a bit of spice. The book is affable enough but lack color. It is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in British contemporary British politics.
What it lacks as a book is a bit of spice. The book is affable enough but lack color. It is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in British contemporary British politics.
June 26, 2017
Clarke describes his political outlook as laissez-faire with a social conscience - much like how he describes his political stardom as almost breezy with a dose of dogged determination. Like Clegg, he is a technocrat with some strongly held principles. It is a pity that both have been maligned and misunderstood as a result of them not pursuing irresponsibly populist policies while in government.
While enjoyable, much of the memoir was unilluminating recounting of hitherto known events, with the key exception of the events transpiring before Thatcher's downfall, for which Clarke kept a diary.
While enjoyable, much of the memoir was unilluminating recounting of hitherto known events, with the key exception of the events transpiring before Thatcher's downfall, for which Clarke kept a diary.
March 3, 2018
An interesting record of the life of a working class family who, because of education, enjoyed social mobility by becoming a barrister, career politician, then businessman
Generally an enjoyable read, but clearly he is a Europhile who doesn’t agree with the use of referenda (although the vote in to the then European Economic Community was not viewed as problematic). Plenty of travel, lunching, dining and drinking at taxpayers expense, but, respectfully, no philandering. He is very honest when describing the death of his loved wife.
A good read, and his path will probably not be able to be followed again as the gaps between haves and have-nots widen again.
Generally an enjoyable read, but clearly he is a Europhile who doesn’t agree with the use of referenda (although the vote in to the then European Economic Community was not viewed as problematic). Plenty of travel, lunching, dining and drinking at taxpayers expense, but, respectfully, no philandering. He is very honest when describing the death of his loved wife.
A good read, and his path will probably not be able to be followed again as the gaps between haves and have-nots widen again.
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