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The End of the Party
Andrew Rawnsley's bestselling book lifts the lid on the second half of New Labour's spell in office, with riveting inside accounts of all the key events from 9/11 and the Iraq War to the financial crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal; and entertaining portraits of the main players as Rawnsley takes us through the triumphs and tribulations of New Labour as well as the astonishing feuds and reconciliations between Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson.
This paperback edition contains two revealing new chapters on the extraordinary events surrounding the 2010 General Election and its aftermath.
This paperback edition contains two revealing new chapters on the extraordinary events surrounding the 2010 General Election and its aftermath.
828 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
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October 1, 2010
Just a note to say that hey, the Labour party has just elected a new leader. He's a Jewish atheist who lives with his female partner but isn't married. Rock & roll?
***************
THE RISE AND FALL OF NEW LABOUR AS TOLD BY JACOB AND WILHELM GRIMM
Two brothers, sons of the king, grow up in the Palace. The younger brother, Antonio, is blessed with charm, is fair of face and has a golden tongue. The people love him. The older, Gordano, studies hard, knows by heart all the laws of the land, but yet is ill-favoured, has a stumbling mien, a halting tongue, and foul breath. But still, as the older brother, Gordano knows that soon, very soon he will be King, as their father is declining.
The day comes when the old King takes to his bed and rises no more. After the solemnities the two princes go forth onto the palace balcony and show themselves to the assembled multitude. To the utmost consternation of Gordano, the great throng calls out one name only - Antonio! You shall be our King! In vain does Gordano quote from his hoary laws, but the people will have none of it. They must have Antonio, and so it is he, beaming and tossing flowers, that is crowned.
Gordano skulks to his Treasury, and counts the money of the realm, and the love of his brother turns to hate. His brother has usurped the throne which was his by right of birth. He plots a revenge, but he knows he cannot act except with stealth, for the people love Antonio immoderately, he of the smiling visage and golden tongue. Murder grows in the bowels of the older brother.
The sun shines on the land and seven full harvests are gathered in, for Gordano husbands well the wealth of the land, which his brother bestrews about him. Things go so well for Antonio that he thinks only one thing is lacking, and this thing shall make him a man - glory on the battlefield.
Anyway... blah blah blah ---- the war becomes a grisly dance of death, yadda yadda. Antonio comes back a changed man, Gordano seizes the moment, banishes him, becomes King, expects - nay, demands the love of his people and is mortified, driven mad indeed, when they all quail before the foulness of his breath, and shun him, and he turns in despair to his Treasury, the source of his power, and finds that robbers have got in while he was plotting Antonio's downfall, and there is nothing left except the bones of a few small animals. The harvests have begun to fail, and Gordano hurls his crown to the ground, and bellows in pain.
That's about the size of it.
**********
The theme of this big fat book is
THE COLOSSAL UTTER FAILURE OF TONY BLAIR
which when you look at it fairly closely is utter and should you have a leftish bone in your body (say your left hip or your left anklebone) might leave you racked with sobs when it hits you occasionally. Back in the 90s Tony and his pals had a dream which as dreams go was appalling in its modesty - his dream was
TO MAKE THE LABOUR PARTY ELECTABLE AGAIN.
That's all. So he did this by sawing off all the bits of the party which were slightly leftish and added in tablespoonfuls of rightwingish cake mix, and he made love violently to Rupert Murdoch a few times, he could be such a charmer, and the most wretched of all newspapers The Sun switched its bile-machine around 180 degrees and started on the Tories, and Tony sashayed into Number Ten with a giant majority.
Consider Obama and his health reform bill. Oh. My. God. Extracting support for it from members of his own party has been like watching an outtake from Saw VI - two Democrats are chained together in a squalid basement with dripping pipes - syphilitic rats the size of lawnmowers emerge from the shadows - all they have to do to get the rats to disappear is sign the health bill - the rats get closer, the Democrat senators are wriggling and writhing but they're not going to sign the bill from hell until five giant black rats are hanging by their teeth from their soft parts. Then finally, cursing God, they sign. Let us contrast this with Tony Blair's situation in 1997 - his giant majority in the House of Commons consisting of Labour MPs who were frankly delirious with joy at being elected at all meant that he could have done anything - a Bill to rename all the months in the calendar after members of his own family? no problem - a Bill to make it legal to hunt Conservatives? give us 48 hours, Tony, it shall be done.
What did he then do? He spent 5 years wondering how he could manage to win another landslide and he figured that the best way to do that was to avoid rocking the boat too much and mention Princess Diana as many times as humanly possible.
So then he got
A SECOND LANDSLIDE VICTORY
after which our troubles really began.
********************************
As for the 2010 election, by the way, since you ask, loathesome Dave Cameron has been practising his JFK knockoff speeches and is bobbing & weaving like a bantamweight after four Red Bulls trying trying trying so hard to deflect the public gaze from the serried ranks of the hideous slavering Tory goon squad behind him. And Gordon Brown lumbers about bellowing mightily and eating live people (if I open my window I can just hear him in the distance ... "rrrrrrraaahhhhhrrrrr" - that was him!) and Nick Clegg has a dream that in only 30 sleeps he will be able to say "Dave, you're my bezzie mate". The polls are crazed at the moment and a big volcanic cloud is hovering over us.
SOME WEEKS LATER
Well, the political debate is rather attenuated in Britain at the moment :
David "Dave" Cameron : Mr Speaker, I'm cutting everything I can't axe. There's no bloody money. The shitbags on the opposite benches spent it all and on what? Prawn crackers for everyone over the age of 88? What kind of nonsense was that?
Harriet Harman (for it is she, acting Leader of the Labour Party, who speaks for Her Majesties' Loyal opposition at present, while the Labour Party itself has a six month long election to find a replacement for Gordon. They have to choose between four clones (Brundleblair) and one black woman. The clones will win. Send in the clones.) : Mr Speaker, the Member for Fornication and Groinstrain is irresponsibility personified. We earnestly urge him to reconsider his mad rush into double digit recession. We hoarsely endorse an alternative policy. As opposed to cutting 80 billion from government expenditure over a period of one year, which is fiscal madness, we propose cutting 79 billion over the period of one year and three months. This is completely different, as you will notice. [She swells up to three times her usual size:] You are clearly insane, while we are clearly not.
***************
THE RISE AND FALL OF NEW LABOUR AS TOLD BY JACOB AND WILHELM GRIMM
Two brothers, sons of the king, grow up in the Palace. The younger brother, Antonio, is blessed with charm, is fair of face and has a golden tongue. The people love him. The older, Gordano, studies hard, knows by heart all the laws of the land, but yet is ill-favoured, has a stumbling mien, a halting tongue, and foul breath. But still, as the older brother, Gordano knows that soon, very soon he will be King, as their father is declining.
The day comes when the old King takes to his bed and rises no more. After the solemnities the two princes go forth onto the palace balcony and show themselves to the assembled multitude. To the utmost consternation of Gordano, the great throng calls out one name only - Antonio! You shall be our King! In vain does Gordano quote from his hoary laws, but the people will have none of it. They must have Antonio, and so it is he, beaming and tossing flowers, that is crowned.
Gordano skulks to his Treasury, and counts the money of the realm, and the love of his brother turns to hate. His brother has usurped the throne which was his by right of birth. He plots a revenge, but he knows he cannot act except with stealth, for the people love Antonio immoderately, he of the smiling visage and golden tongue. Murder grows in the bowels of the older brother.
The sun shines on the land and seven full harvests are gathered in, for Gordano husbands well the wealth of the land, which his brother bestrews about him. Things go so well for Antonio that he thinks only one thing is lacking, and this thing shall make him a man - glory on the battlefield.
Anyway... blah blah blah ---- the war becomes a grisly dance of death, yadda yadda. Antonio comes back a changed man, Gordano seizes the moment, banishes him, becomes King, expects - nay, demands the love of his people and is mortified, driven mad indeed, when they all quail before the foulness of his breath, and shun him, and he turns in despair to his Treasury, the source of his power, and finds that robbers have got in while he was plotting Antonio's downfall, and there is nothing left except the bones of a few small animals. The harvests have begun to fail, and Gordano hurls his crown to the ground, and bellows in pain.
That's about the size of it.
**********
The theme of this big fat book is
THE COLOSSAL UTTER FAILURE OF TONY BLAIR
which when you look at it fairly closely is utter and should you have a leftish bone in your body (say your left hip or your left anklebone) might leave you racked with sobs when it hits you occasionally. Back in the 90s Tony and his pals had a dream which as dreams go was appalling in its modesty - his dream was
TO MAKE THE LABOUR PARTY ELECTABLE AGAIN.
That's all. So he did this by sawing off all the bits of the party which were slightly leftish and added in tablespoonfuls of rightwingish cake mix, and he made love violently to Rupert Murdoch a few times, he could be such a charmer, and the most wretched of all newspapers The Sun switched its bile-machine around 180 degrees and started on the Tories, and Tony sashayed into Number Ten with a giant majority.
Consider Obama and his health reform bill. Oh. My. God. Extracting support for it from members of his own party has been like watching an outtake from Saw VI - two Democrats are chained together in a squalid basement with dripping pipes - syphilitic rats the size of lawnmowers emerge from the shadows - all they have to do to get the rats to disappear is sign the health bill - the rats get closer, the Democrat senators are wriggling and writhing but they're not going to sign the bill from hell until five giant black rats are hanging by their teeth from their soft parts. Then finally, cursing God, they sign. Let us contrast this with Tony Blair's situation in 1997 - his giant majority in the House of Commons consisting of Labour MPs who were frankly delirious with joy at being elected at all meant that he could have done anything - a Bill to rename all the months in the calendar after members of his own family? no problem - a Bill to make it legal to hunt Conservatives? give us 48 hours, Tony, it shall be done.
What did he then do? He spent 5 years wondering how he could manage to win another landslide and he figured that the best way to do that was to avoid rocking the boat too much and mention Princess Diana as many times as humanly possible.
So then he got
A SECOND LANDSLIDE VICTORY
after which our troubles really began.
********************************
As for the 2010 election, by the way, since you ask, loathesome Dave Cameron has been practising his JFK knockoff speeches and is bobbing & weaving like a bantamweight after four Red Bulls trying trying trying so hard to deflect the public gaze from the serried ranks of the hideous slavering Tory goon squad behind him. And Gordon Brown lumbers about bellowing mightily and eating live people (if I open my window I can just hear him in the distance ... "rrrrrrraaahhhhhrrrrr" - that was him!) and Nick Clegg has a dream that in only 30 sleeps he will be able to say "Dave, you're my bezzie mate". The polls are crazed at the moment and a big volcanic cloud is hovering over us.
SOME WEEKS LATER
Well, the political debate is rather attenuated in Britain at the moment :
David "Dave" Cameron : Mr Speaker, I'm cutting everything I can't axe. There's no bloody money. The shitbags on the opposite benches spent it all and on what? Prawn crackers for everyone over the age of 88? What kind of nonsense was that?
Harriet Harman (for it is she, acting Leader of the Labour Party, who speaks for Her Majesties' Loyal opposition at present, while the Labour Party itself has a six month long election to find a replacement for Gordon. They have to choose between four clones (Brundleblair) and one black woman. The clones will win. Send in the clones.) : Mr Speaker, the Member for Fornication and Groinstrain is irresponsibility personified. We earnestly urge him to reconsider his mad rush into double digit recession. We hoarsely endorse an alternative policy. As opposed to cutting 80 billion from government expenditure over a period of one year, which is fiscal madness, we propose cutting 79 billion over the period of one year and three months. This is completely different, as you will notice. [She swells up to three times her usual size:] You are clearly insane, while we are clearly not.
October 9, 2015
This superbly written and highly detailed tome has the capacity, like many books about the New Labour project, to leave you wringing your hands in rage and frustration. It’s fundamentally depressing to see how little core belief there was at the centre. Whereas Clement Atlee (the first Labour Prime Minister to win a majority) came in and changed the entire social fabric of the country, Blair and Brown ran a government of headlines. It didn’t matter what the consequences actually were, or whether the nitiative could really be delivered successfully, as long as it looked good in the next day’s Daily Mail that’s all that counted.
The day in 1997 when Tony Blair walked down Downing Street in the sunshine, was one of great optimism for the country – albeit followed by four years that even the Labour Party thought was wasted. This book opens in 2001, at the start of the second term, when the government thought they would finally make good on the promises they’d given to the public. But then “events dear boy, events” in the form of 9/11, and a whole different direction was taken.
One of the things most depressing about this book is how mad both Blair and Brown seem. This period catches Blair at his messianic worst, touring the world as a ‘great statesman’, fully convinced he was the man who could influence George W. Bush – when it was clear to all around him that he was barely influencing the President an inch. That period included an amazing conference speech where Blair announced he was going to solve all the hunger, disease and war in the world, whilst conceding that he couldn’t get the trains to run on time in his own country. He was the ultimate big picture man, and it’s clear from reading this that he gave no more thought to what would happen in the aftermath to the invasion of Iraq than Cheney or Rumsfeld did.
Throughout it all he had Gordon Brown agitating next-door, waging running wars and media campaigns against the Prime Minister, as well as anyone else he considered a rival in the cabinet. If there’s a man who really comes badly out of this book its Brown (though I doubt Ed Balls, or even current Labour leader Ed Milliband would appreciate it as a Christmas present). He is portrayed as a bullying control-freak with a volcanic temper, as well as the inability to admit any fault and a lack of real empathy with people. Brown’s inherent flaws are so pronounced throughout the whole of this work, that it’s truly amazing no one stepped in the way to stop him becoming Prime Minister. As when he got there, it was always going to unravel in the most calamitous fashion.
When the first edition of this book was published back in spring, the election was just getting under way and it was in the Labour Party’s interests to deny it (it has since been updated to capture Brown’s very last days). Since then there have been a number of memoirs (not least Blair’s and Mandelson’s) which show how accurate Rawnsley’s version actually is. If you have any interest in British politics, if you want to read a factual book about the last government which has big characters and chapters which wouldn’t disgrace a thriller, then this is definitely recommended.
The day in 1997 when Tony Blair walked down Downing Street in the sunshine, was one of great optimism for the country – albeit followed by four years that even the Labour Party thought was wasted. This book opens in 2001, at the start of the second term, when the government thought they would finally make good on the promises they’d given to the public. But then “events dear boy, events” in the form of 9/11, and a whole different direction was taken.
One of the things most depressing about this book is how mad both Blair and Brown seem. This period catches Blair at his messianic worst, touring the world as a ‘great statesman’, fully convinced he was the man who could influence George W. Bush – when it was clear to all around him that he was barely influencing the President an inch. That period included an amazing conference speech where Blair announced he was going to solve all the hunger, disease and war in the world, whilst conceding that he couldn’t get the trains to run on time in his own country. He was the ultimate big picture man, and it’s clear from reading this that he gave no more thought to what would happen in the aftermath to the invasion of Iraq than Cheney or Rumsfeld did.
Throughout it all he had Gordon Brown agitating next-door, waging running wars and media campaigns against the Prime Minister, as well as anyone else he considered a rival in the cabinet. If there’s a man who really comes badly out of this book its Brown (though I doubt Ed Balls, or even current Labour leader Ed Milliband would appreciate it as a Christmas present). He is portrayed as a bullying control-freak with a volcanic temper, as well as the inability to admit any fault and a lack of real empathy with people. Brown’s inherent flaws are so pronounced throughout the whole of this work, that it’s truly amazing no one stepped in the way to stop him becoming Prime Minister. As when he got there, it was always going to unravel in the most calamitous fashion.
When the first edition of this book was published back in spring, the election was just getting under way and it was in the Labour Party’s interests to deny it (it has since been updated to capture Brown’s very last days). Since then there have been a number of memoirs (not least Blair’s and Mandelson’s) which show how accurate Rawnsley’s version actually is. If you have any interest in British politics, if you want to read a factual book about the last government which has big characters and chapters which wouldn’t disgrace a thriller, then this is definitely recommended.
February 12, 2024
yaoiful
August 15, 2025
did not finish (700 pages..) but very interesting. My politics hyperfixation wore off before finishing it ...
June 28, 2018
Well worth the effort in reading it, now for War and Peace! Only having seen the TV series, I understand the W&P book is long and introduces a lot of charaters. This books does the same but there is more war than peace. It really makes you wonder about our parliamentary democracy when the "most powerful" person in the land spends so much time agonising over what the media say. It also lays bare the infighting that was at the core of New Labour and how this reduced the effectiveness of the party and eventually exhausted it. A pity because it promised so much, and nothing since has been as good. I would like to see the author produce a companion book on the Tory governments following, it could make new Labour look like a love in.
August 20, 2021
Excellent book and companion to ‘Servants of the People’ highly detailed and well researched. It gets to the essential struggle at heart of New Labour project and identifies well how it ended. At times sometimes seems to really dwell on the unreasonable behaviour of Brown where its clearly
Established what the issues are. Excellent account of 2010 election and coalition negotiations. Overall a detailed and fair account of the era
Established what the issues are. Excellent account of 2010 election and coalition negotiations. Overall a detailed and fair account of the era
February 26, 2025
V long but exceptional read. A fantastic insight into such interesting times
October 17, 2013
Rawnsley has studied in detail the second and third terms of the New Labour project and has interviewed hundreds of politicians and civil servants both on and off the record.
This a monumental book in physical size and scope. The main focus of his gaze is the towering icons of Blair and Brown. This pair, along with Mandleson created the New Labour project and made the party electable. Even as they were still celebrating the win of the second election the cracks in the veneer were starting to show. Shortly after they were elected the tragedy of 9/11 happened, Rawnsley goes into lots of detail on the subsequent wars and the way that a labour politician could be associated with a very right wing American politician, and how the members of his party were horrified with this relationship, and the British general public were disbelieving as well. The accusation is made that Blair agreed to commit British troops to the war regardless. The fallout from WMD, dodgy dossiers and the inevitable Whitehall whitewashes has tainted politics since. Blair has an amazing ability to capture the moment with a correctly judged phrase. Whist he was very politically astute, what he did not have was any political ideology.
A lot of the book is concerned with the promises made by Blair to Brown on the succession. Various deals were made between them, and the public had the impression that Blair never kept these, but Rawnsley reveals that these were deals, and Brown rarely kept to his side of it. The rows that these two had were spectacular, but as Rawnsley said every time they looked into the abyss then they would find common ground and keep on. The Iraq war was his downfall, and the lies that he perpetrated to bring us to the war are shameful. However he was a key player in the Northern Ireland peace process, and it would not be where is today without him.
Brown was a schemer and a plotter, who surrounded himself with acolytes to do his dirty work. He would arrange for them to brief and spin again supporters of Blair and when he was Prime Minister even against members of his own party. One of them, Damien McBride, was particularly unpleasant, and we are still getting the fallout from his recent book. Even though he claimed to be uninterested in the media, he comes across in the book as even more sensitive to any bad headlines, throwing massive fits when the press savaged him. Brown was subject to frequent rages, and staff in Number 10 would often be the recipients of these. The cabinet secretary had to warn him several times to keep his temper in check. He didn’t come across as someone nice to work with, and if he felt that you had bretrayed him then you would be ostracised. My favourite quote at the time was he waited 10 years for a job that he couldn’t do...
It is a fascinating book, and Rawnsley has managed to convey the way that this government did and didn’t work. In the end the New Labour ‘project’ imploded spectacularly, and has forever changed the face of British politics
This a monumental book in physical size and scope. The main focus of his gaze is the towering icons of Blair and Brown. This pair, along with Mandleson created the New Labour project and made the party electable. Even as they were still celebrating the win of the second election the cracks in the veneer were starting to show. Shortly after they were elected the tragedy of 9/11 happened, Rawnsley goes into lots of detail on the subsequent wars and the way that a labour politician could be associated with a very right wing American politician, and how the members of his party were horrified with this relationship, and the British general public were disbelieving as well. The accusation is made that Blair agreed to commit British troops to the war regardless. The fallout from WMD, dodgy dossiers and the inevitable Whitehall whitewashes has tainted politics since. Blair has an amazing ability to capture the moment with a correctly judged phrase. Whist he was very politically astute, what he did not have was any political ideology.
A lot of the book is concerned with the promises made by Blair to Brown on the succession. Various deals were made between them, and the public had the impression that Blair never kept these, but Rawnsley reveals that these were deals, and Brown rarely kept to his side of it. The rows that these two had were spectacular, but as Rawnsley said every time they looked into the abyss then they would find common ground and keep on. The Iraq war was his downfall, and the lies that he perpetrated to bring us to the war are shameful. However he was a key player in the Northern Ireland peace process, and it would not be where is today without him.
Brown was a schemer and a plotter, who surrounded himself with acolytes to do his dirty work. He would arrange for them to brief and spin again supporters of Blair and when he was Prime Minister even against members of his own party. One of them, Damien McBride, was particularly unpleasant, and we are still getting the fallout from his recent book. Even though he claimed to be uninterested in the media, he comes across in the book as even more sensitive to any bad headlines, throwing massive fits when the press savaged him. Brown was subject to frequent rages, and staff in Number 10 would often be the recipients of these. The cabinet secretary had to warn him several times to keep his temper in check. He didn’t come across as someone nice to work with, and if he felt that you had bretrayed him then you would be ostracised. My favourite quote at the time was he waited 10 years for a job that he couldn’t do...
It is a fascinating book, and Rawnsley has managed to convey the way that this government did and didn’t work. In the end the New Labour ‘project’ imploded spectacularly, and has forever changed the face of British politics
April 6, 2019
A terrific, and detailed book, about the second and third terms of “New Labour” led by Tony Blair, and then by Gordon Brown. This book is a follow-up to the author’s “Servants of the People” look at the first term of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Peter Mandelson, and “New Labour.”
Like the first book the central theme remains the constant political warfare between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and how that impacted the governing of the Labor government. Of course the events they were dealing with in the second and third terms included Blair’s politically misguided Iraq war decisions, which the author covers in detail. That detail is not kind to Prime Minister Blair, nor should it be. Gordon Brown does not fare much better, and is shown in the worst light, both as a Chancellor constantly trying to push Blair towards the exit, and as the Prime Minister when he finally got Blair to go.
As British political history goes this book is invaluable. Tony Blair led Labour to three general election victories, and although Brown was often credited as the political mastermind of those victories it is quite apparent that Blair should have gotten a much larger share of the credit. When Blair exited the entire apparatus fell apart, although his Iraq decision played some role in the ultimate demise of “New Labour.” The constant battles between Blair and Brown were in many cases centered on policy, but the author shows us a conniving Brown using policy to try to try to undercut his own Prime Minister. Fairly or not the view has always been that Blair was more flash and spin than substance and detail, but I never bought that line entirely. Without a doubt Blair used media to hype, and yes, to spin, press coverage. But he knew his brief, and showed that knowledge during Prime Minister’s Questions, where he frequently made short work of the Tory Leader. The author sticks to that theme here, pointing to the Blair tendency to gloss over detail while embracing “vision.” It was observed by Sir Robin Butler that:
“the attitude of Tony Blair and New Labour was that it was their job to have the concept. They would define the New Jerusalem. It was the civil service’s job to get there. So if one failed to achieve everything that the Government wanted, this was somehow the fault of the technicians, the civil service. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Objectives require resources, organisations, discussions about capacity.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (p. 288). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
“What Blair lacked was a sustained interest in the mechanics of delivery. ‘He latched on to issues,’ observes Sir Stephen Wall. ‘But he didn’t have a really determined follow-through.’49 Margaret Jay coined a phrase for the boredom in Blair’s eyes when he was forced to listen to the ‘nitty gritty’ of policy. She called it ‘the garden look’. His ‘gaze would shift’ and look longingly through the window and out into the back garden of Number 10.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (p. 289). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
The author covers the Iraq debacle at some length, and shows what I have always believed to be Blair’s true motivation: his desire to maintain the “special relationship” with the U.S., at all costs, and to be the “bridge” between Europe and George W. Bush. Blair believed he could influence the Bush Administration Iraq policy by proximity to the President, but his hopes in that regard were dashed by Bush (and Cheney and Rumsfeld.) The power in that relationship was obviously disproportionately in Bush’s favor, but the author speculates that Bush, as always, was underestimated politically by the British.
“Bush was a politician of some skill. This was rarely noticed by most people in Europe and wholly forgotten later when Bush became such a discredited figure. Yet it was true. Blair was once asked by a colleague: ‘What do you see in Bush?’ Blair responded: ‘He’s got charm and peasant cunning.’ This was a potent combination when allied with the most powerful office in the world. ‘I think Bush genuinely liked Blair,’ says Meyer. ‘But he used Blair.’ ‘Bush was a very artful politician,’ agrees another senior official. ‘Blair thought he was running the relationship, but he was being run.’ At Crawford and subsequently, Bush out-Blaired Blair. The Prime Minister thought he could ride the tiger; he ended up inside its stomach.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (pp. 95-96). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
Blair’s decisions on Iraq have had an outsized influence on British politics since, impacting the Labor Party and the entire system in ways still felt to this very day. Blair’s record will always have that monumental error on it, but he had plenty of substantial achievements as P.M. as well, including the Good Friday Agreement, which is also still playing a major role in British politics as Brexit negotiations continually founder on the issue of the Irish “backstop.” Blair proved himself, over the longer term, to be a vastly superior politician than Brown, whose tenure as P.M. had some shining moments, but was in many respects a continual train wreck. Rawnsley covers the Brown premiership in sometimes excruciating detail. Brown’s inability to make decisions, and then to make bad decisions when he got around to execution, is covered very well. Brown’s decision making process was neatly summed up by political observer Sue Cameron, who said:
“When John Major was in Number 10 and there was a big decision to be taken, he would order papers and he would read through them, often quite late into the night. The next morning, he’d make a decision. When Blair was in Number 10, he’d tell his civil servants to read the papers and give him a shortlist of options and in the morning he’d make a decision. With Gordon, he sends for the papers, he reads them late into the night and then the next morning he sends for more papers.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (p. 524). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
Brown ended up losing to a Conservative Leader who seemed to emulate Tony Blair, David Cameron. He seemed, after the fact, and maybe a little before the fact, to become aware of some of his own shortcomings as P.M. Brown was, and is, a very smart man, but he spent a career trying to push Tony Blair out of the P.M. job. When he finally got the crown he found that the job was a little harder than he thought. Some real irony in the fact that Brown, as P.M., had trouble with a Chancellor who would not buy into his program. I am sure Tony Blair found that irony more than a little satisfying. Great book, highly recommended.
Like the first book the central theme remains the constant political warfare between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and how that impacted the governing of the Labor government. Of course the events they were dealing with in the second and third terms included Blair’s politically misguided Iraq war decisions, which the author covers in detail. That detail is not kind to Prime Minister Blair, nor should it be. Gordon Brown does not fare much better, and is shown in the worst light, both as a Chancellor constantly trying to push Blair towards the exit, and as the Prime Minister when he finally got Blair to go.
As British political history goes this book is invaluable. Tony Blair led Labour to three general election victories, and although Brown was often credited as the political mastermind of those victories it is quite apparent that Blair should have gotten a much larger share of the credit. When Blair exited the entire apparatus fell apart, although his Iraq decision played some role in the ultimate demise of “New Labour.” The constant battles between Blair and Brown were in many cases centered on policy, but the author shows us a conniving Brown using policy to try to try to undercut his own Prime Minister. Fairly or not the view has always been that Blair was more flash and spin than substance and detail, but I never bought that line entirely. Without a doubt Blair used media to hype, and yes, to spin, press coverage. But he knew his brief, and showed that knowledge during Prime Minister’s Questions, where he frequently made short work of the Tory Leader. The author sticks to that theme here, pointing to the Blair tendency to gloss over detail while embracing “vision.” It was observed by Sir Robin Butler that:
“the attitude of Tony Blair and New Labour was that it was their job to have the concept. They would define the New Jerusalem. It was the civil service’s job to get there. So if one failed to achieve everything that the Government wanted, this was somehow the fault of the technicians, the civil service. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. Objectives require resources, organisations, discussions about capacity.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (p. 288). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
“What Blair lacked was a sustained interest in the mechanics of delivery. ‘He latched on to issues,’ observes Sir Stephen Wall. ‘But he didn’t have a really determined follow-through.’49 Margaret Jay coined a phrase for the boredom in Blair’s eyes when he was forced to listen to the ‘nitty gritty’ of policy. She called it ‘the garden look’. His ‘gaze would shift’ and look longingly through the window and out into the back garden of Number 10.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (p. 289). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
The author covers the Iraq debacle at some length, and shows what I have always believed to be Blair’s true motivation: his desire to maintain the “special relationship” with the U.S., at all costs, and to be the “bridge” between Europe and George W. Bush. Blair believed he could influence the Bush Administration Iraq policy by proximity to the President, but his hopes in that regard were dashed by Bush (and Cheney and Rumsfeld.) The power in that relationship was obviously disproportionately in Bush’s favor, but the author speculates that Bush, as always, was underestimated politically by the British.
“Bush was a politician of some skill. This was rarely noticed by most people in Europe and wholly forgotten later when Bush became such a discredited figure. Yet it was true. Blair was once asked by a colleague: ‘What do you see in Bush?’ Blair responded: ‘He’s got charm and peasant cunning.’ This was a potent combination when allied with the most powerful office in the world. ‘I think Bush genuinely liked Blair,’ says Meyer. ‘But he used Blair.’ ‘Bush was a very artful politician,’ agrees another senior official. ‘Blair thought he was running the relationship, but he was being run.’ At Crawford and subsequently, Bush out-Blaired Blair. The Prime Minister thought he could ride the tiger; he ended up inside its stomach.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (pp. 95-96). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
Blair’s decisions on Iraq have had an outsized influence on British politics since, impacting the Labor Party and the entire system in ways still felt to this very day. Blair’s record will always have that monumental error on it, but he had plenty of substantial achievements as P.M. as well, including the Good Friday Agreement, which is also still playing a major role in British politics as Brexit negotiations continually founder on the issue of the Irish “backstop.” Blair proved himself, over the longer term, to be a vastly superior politician than Brown, whose tenure as P.M. had some shining moments, but was in many respects a continual train wreck. Rawnsley covers the Brown premiership in sometimes excruciating detail. Brown’s inability to make decisions, and then to make bad decisions when he got around to execution, is covered very well. Brown’s decision making process was neatly summed up by political observer Sue Cameron, who said:
“When John Major was in Number 10 and there was a big decision to be taken, he would order papers and he would read through them, often quite late into the night. The next morning, he’d make a decision. When Blair was in Number 10, he’d tell his civil servants to read the papers and give him a shortlist of options and in the morning he’d make a decision. With Gordon, he sends for the papers, he reads them late into the night and then the next morning he sends for more papers.”
Rawnsley, Andrew. The End of the Party (p. 524). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
Brown ended up losing to a Conservative Leader who seemed to emulate Tony Blair, David Cameron. He seemed, after the fact, and maybe a little before the fact, to become aware of some of his own shortcomings as P.M. Brown was, and is, a very smart man, but he spent a career trying to push Tony Blair out of the P.M. job. When he finally got the crown he found that the job was a little harder than he thought. Some real irony in the fact that Brown, as P.M., had trouble with a Chancellor who would not buy into his program. I am sure Tony Blair found that irony more than a little satisfying. Great book, highly recommended.
December 13, 2010
This book didn't tell me much about Blair I hadn't suspected. The whole period through the Iraq war was very much the 'Phony Tony', 'Bliar' I always figured him for... Rawnsley portrays him as someone who acts first and thinks later.
Whereas Brown thinks, then acts, then thinks some more, changes his mind, thinks more, dithers a bit longer, before finally acting only after the issue is all strained of any actual substance.
It seems like a very fair portrayal and meets with other secriptions of how I've seen and heard them portrayed.
I always felt a bit sorry for Brown. He had his opportunity when he came in to say, "I'm sorry, we got it wrong." He could have thrown out PFI, Academies, Foundation Hospitals, apologised over Iraq and Afghanistan... and he didn't. But that's his fault and his alone. If he had done what the young student in him probably would have wanted to do then he might still be in power. Everyone has the opportunity to be the most-loved prime minister ever when they first take over.
And I've never liked Blair.
None of those views have changed. But I have a new contempt for Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Bremer. And I know a lot more about the workings of government. I'll look forward to developments over the coming years.
This book took me a while to read, but I was never frustrated or wanting to finish it. I enjoyed it very much.
Whereas Brown thinks, then acts, then thinks some more, changes his mind, thinks more, dithers a bit longer, before finally acting only after the issue is all strained of any actual substance.
It seems like a very fair portrayal and meets with other secriptions of how I've seen and heard them portrayed.
I always felt a bit sorry for Brown. He had his opportunity when he came in to say, "I'm sorry, we got it wrong." He could have thrown out PFI, Academies, Foundation Hospitals, apologised over Iraq and Afghanistan... and he didn't. But that's his fault and his alone. If he had done what the young student in him probably would have wanted to do then he might still be in power. Everyone has the opportunity to be the most-loved prime minister ever when they first take over.
And I've never liked Blair.
None of those views have changed. But I have a new contempt for Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Bremer. And I know a lot more about the workings of government. I'll look forward to developments over the coming years.
This book took me a while to read, but I was never frustrated or wanting to finish it. I enjoyed it very much.
October 31, 2021
This is a blow-by-blow account of the inside of New Labour from 2001 onwards, and at 750 pages, Rawnsley can’t be accused of skimping on detail. I found The End of the Party to be a bit of a gripping read, and enjoyed seeing politics unfold into a story with large sections of tragedy and farce.
Despite the length, there’s much that isn’t covered here. There’s little on the social changes over which New Labour presided, be it widening regional and intergenerational inequality, migration, the failure to deliver the benefits of globalisation to large sections of the population, etc etc. Instead, the focus is firmly on the inside world of New Labour, the effects of policy being relevant merely in terms of their influence on internal machinations.
From out of the who-said-what emerge two strong parts to Rawnsley’s book. The first is the extended account of Tony Blair’s decision to take Britain to war in Iraq. An abiding theme of this is Blair’s repeated failure to take opportunities – which certainly did present themselves – to influence the Americans. Dazzled by access to the President, sidelined by figures like Cheney, and self-deluded regarding post-invasion strategy, we learn of chances missed and points not pressed home.
From his account of Blair’s relations with his own cabinet, Rawnsley is able to weave together another theme. Blair, like many politicians, was a poor people manager. Trained as a barrister – a profession demanding individual displays of ability – Blair was unable to bring out the best in others. This meant that government departments in charge of delivering and reforming public services chronically under-performed. Winning elections through personal charisma is one thing, effecting lasting change is another.
The End of the Party’s second strong section is Rawnsley’s account of Gordon Brown’s transition to become Prime Minister. As Rawnsley acidly points out, for someone whose entire life for 13 years was organised solely around succeeding Tony Blair, Brown appears to have given remarkably little thought to what he would actually do when he got the job.
When entering Downing Street, Brown said that he would follow his old school motto, I will try my utmost. But that credo ultimately destroyed him. Unwilling to delegate, and unable to see that not all problems can be solved by total self-immersion in the details, Brown’s frustrations led to cataclysmic eruptions of temper. Angry, paranoid, directionless, and totally consumed by a desire for power, there’s not much more than Brown’s leadership on the international stage during the financial crisis that redeems him in Rawnsley’s account.
Blair’s half of the book is one of hubris and the consequences of it. But the Brown that emerges is a much sadder figure. A sort of Captain Ahab, raging at the world from the sinking New Labour ship, totally broken by the very thing that he pursued so long.
Despite the length, there’s much that isn’t covered here. There’s little on the social changes over which New Labour presided, be it widening regional and intergenerational inequality, migration, the failure to deliver the benefits of globalisation to large sections of the population, etc etc. Instead, the focus is firmly on the inside world of New Labour, the effects of policy being relevant merely in terms of their influence on internal machinations.
From out of the who-said-what emerge two strong parts to Rawnsley’s book. The first is the extended account of Tony Blair’s decision to take Britain to war in Iraq. An abiding theme of this is Blair’s repeated failure to take opportunities – which certainly did present themselves – to influence the Americans. Dazzled by access to the President, sidelined by figures like Cheney, and self-deluded regarding post-invasion strategy, we learn of chances missed and points not pressed home.
From his account of Blair’s relations with his own cabinet, Rawnsley is able to weave together another theme. Blair, like many politicians, was a poor people manager. Trained as a barrister – a profession demanding individual displays of ability – Blair was unable to bring out the best in others. This meant that government departments in charge of delivering and reforming public services chronically under-performed. Winning elections through personal charisma is one thing, effecting lasting change is another.
The End of the Party’s second strong section is Rawnsley’s account of Gordon Brown’s transition to become Prime Minister. As Rawnsley acidly points out, for someone whose entire life for 13 years was organised solely around succeeding Tony Blair, Brown appears to have given remarkably little thought to what he would actually do when he got the job.
When entering Downing Street, Brown said that he would follow his old school motto, I will try my utmost. But that credo ultimately destroyed him. Unwilling to delegate, and unable to see that not all problems can be solved by total self-immersion in the details, Brown’s frustrations led to cataclysmic eruptions of temper. Angry, paranoid, directionless, and totally consumed by a desire for power, there’s not much more than Brown’s leadership on the international stage during the financial crisis that redeems him in Rawnsley’s account.
Blair’s half of the book is one of hubris and the consequences of it. But the Brown that emerges is a much sadder figure. A sort of Captain Ahab, raging at the world from the sinking New Labour ship, totally broken by the very thing that he pursued so long.
May 26, 2020
New Labour will always represent the ultimate betrayal of the working class, a construct that robbed British politics of a genuine left-wing party and condemned us to the "lesser of two evils" democracy witnessed in America.
While Margaret Thatcher will rightly be demonised for letting rampant capitalism rip society apart, at least she was sticking to her party's poisoned principles and didn't try to pretend she had any socialist leanings. The same can't be said for Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson, who became so obsessed with gaining short-term political power that they didn't care about the long-term consequences for the very people they were supposed to represent.
Andrew Rawnsley's excellent book rightly points out that some social progress was made during New Labour's 13 years in power, albeit such a task wasn't difficult given the ravages wrought by the Tory governments of Thatcher and John Major. But what makes this such a fascinating read is the way it chronicles the dark side of Blair's slick regime and New Labour's disastrous denouement when Brown finally managed to barge his way into No.10.
Critics of Blair like to brand him as the war-monger responsible for Britain's ill-fated involvement in the Iraq War yet the picture Rawnsely paints depicts him as something of a coward. Blair's failure to stand up to George Bush shaped his ruinous decision making on Iraq while his continued tolerance of Brown's temper tantrums and belligerence over policy ultimately undermined his government.
It's hard to believe that Brown got away with such outrageous behaviour for so long and his depiction here is one of a sullen bully whose vast intellect could not make up for his incredible lack of social skills. That supposed pact between Blair and Brown to hand over the Premiership, and Blair's steadfast refusal to stick by it, lies at the heart of their destructive relationship and Rawnsley's book.
At almost 800 pages long, Rawnsley crams a lot in as he covers the steady demise of the New Labour regime over its last two terms in power. Some chapters are more interesting than others but it never ceases to be fascinating and the level of insight is incredible, with Rawnsley having interviewed so many people close to the heart of power.
It's hard to image anyone writing a more definitive account of tumultuous times that ranged from 9/11 and the Iraq War to the Global Financial Crisis and so many scandals in between. Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in politics.
While Margaret Thatcher will rightly be demonised for letting rampant capitalism rip society apart, at least she was sticking to her party's poisoned principles and didn't try to pretend she had any socialist leanings. The same can't be said for Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson, who became so obsessed with gaining short-term political power that they didn't care about the long-term consequences for the very people they were supposed to represent.
Andrew Rawnsley's excellent book rightly points out that some social progress was made during New Labour's 13 years in power, albeit such a task wasn't difficult given the ravages wrought by the Tory governments of Thatcher and John Major. But what makes this such a fascinating read is the way it chronicles the dark side of Blair's slick regime and New Labour's disastrous denouement when Brown finally managed to barge his way into No.10.
Critics of Blair like to brand him as the war-monger responsible for Britain's ill-fated involvement in the Iraq War yet the picture Rawnsely paints depicts him as something of a coward. Blair's failure to stand up to George Bush shaped his ruinous decision making on Iraq while his continued tolerance of Brown's temper tantrums and belligerence over policy ultimately undermined his government.
It's hard to believe that Brown got away with such outrageous behaviour for so long and his depiction here is one of a sullen bully whose vast intellect could not make up for his incredible lack of social skills. That supposed pact between Blair and Brown to hand over the Premiership, and Blair's steadfast refusal to stick by it, lies at the heart of their destructive relationship and Rawnsley's book.
At almost 800 pages long, Rawnsley crams a lot in as he covers the steady demise of the New Labour regime over its last two terms in power. Some chapters are more interesting than others but it never ceases to be fascinating and the level of insight is incredible, with Rawnsley having interviewed so many people close to the heart of power.
It's hard to image anyone writing a more definitive account of tumultuous times that ranged from 9/11 and the Iraq War to the Global Financial Crisis and so many scandals in between. Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in politics.
March 7, 2018
The most important thing of any book is to keep the reader engaged. As stimulating as the history of New Labour undoubtedly is I worried that a near 800 page book about their second and third terms in Government would be a hard slog to get through. By the time I was on the the last page I wished 'The End Of The Party' had been 800 pages longer.
Whilst events like The Iraq War, the expenses scandal and the turbulent relationship of Blair and Brown have been retold many times before the attention to detail and the pace of Andrew Rawnsley's writing makes you feel you are in the room as the main protagonists lurch from one crisis to another. Not many of the main players come out of the book in a particularly good light. The lead roles are naturally taken by Blair and Brown and their broken relationship is the crux of the book. Two extremely different men with very different talents, Blair is a people pleaser who is desperate to be liked to the point of fault whilst Brown can be summed up by Blair himself with his quote of 'Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero' .The pettiness of Brown in particular is ludicrous at times. So often his sole focus is getting one over the prime minister whilst Blair's deep rooted guilt about the infamous 'Granita Pact' of 1994 means he continually refuses calls from his own cabinet (and even his wife) to sack his chancellor. That the figureheads of a party who sold themselves as “servants of the people” should conduct government in such a self absorbed manner is a disheartening realisation that no matter how high the office or important the job, the flaws of human nature will often triumph above all else.
It's hard to imagine a better account of the New Labour years than what Rawnsley has achieved with 'The End Of The Party'. It's a fascinating insight into the inner workings of an ideology that dominated the political landscape in Britain for over a decade and one that influenced it's opponents to the point where it became near impossible to differentiate between the two main parties. As Jeremy Corbyn continues to distance his Labour Party from the days of Blair and Brown, 'The End Of The Party' stands as the definitive account of a political philosophy that now seems consigned to history.
Whilst events like The Iraq War, the expenses scandal and the turbulent relationship of Blair and Brown have been retold many times before the attention to detail and the pace of Andrew Rawnsley's writing makes you feel you are in the room as the main protagonists lurch from one crisis to another. Not many of the main players come out of the book in a particularly good light. The lead roles are naturally taken by Blair and Brown and their broken relationship is the crux of the book. Two extremely different men with very different talents, Blair is a people pleaser who is desperate to be liked to the point of fault whilst Brown can be summed up by Blair himself with his quote of 'Analytical intelligence, absolutely. Emotional intelligence, zero' .The pettiness of Brown in particular is ludicrous at times. So often his sole focus is getting one over the prime minister whilst Blair's deep rooted guilt about the infamous 'Granita Pact' of 1994 means he continually refuses calls from his own cabinet (and even his wife) to sack his chancellor. That the figureheads of a party who sold themselves as “servants of the people” should conduct government in such a self absorbed manner is a disheartening realisation that no matter how high the office or important the job, the flaws of human nature will often triumph above all else.
It's hard to imagine a better account of the New Labour years than what Rawnsley has achieved with 'The End Of The Party'. It's a fascinating insight into the inner workings of an ideology that dominated the political landscape in Britain for over a decade and one that influenced it's opponents to the point where it became near impossible to differentiate between the two main parties. As Jeremy Corbyn continues to distance his Labour Party from the days of Blair and Brown, 'The End Of The Party' stands as the definitive account of a political philosophy that now seems consigned to history.
October 8, 2021
Brilliant! The ultimate insider view of New Labour showing Tony and Gordon at their untouchable best and terrifying worst.
The access the author has to internal memos and emails as well as witness accounts makes this book rich with detail - every page having a new development, but well worth reading through.
The book shows how Tony and Gordon made New Labour the force it was, but you also see how the relationship became so toxic it bought the movement to it’s knees.
The relationship between Tony and Gordon, and the all out war from both camps whilst in office, sometimes made uncomfortable reading. It is incredible how bad things actually got between those two.
Tony throughout the book is painted as someone who felt he could walk on water. Someone who was so sure of his views he was almost a man in denial when things went wrong. Motivated by headlines, polls, and presentation rather than trying to make a difference.
The stuff he says to Bush is bordering on the Homoerotic.
Gordon on the other hand is painted as a paranoid angry man waiting in the wings to assume power. A man torn between trying to bring down Blair, but also knowing that an attempt like that could bring him down too. Ultimately this predicament kept the relationship in place just enough for it to work.
In the end they both needed each other.
The book ends with Gordon’s time in power. A man with a personality clearly not made to be number 1, but incredibly good in a crisis. Notably there is huge detail on the financial crisis and Brown’s role in saving Britain from the brink. Something history should give him more credit for.
But ultimately after 13 years of New Labour you see how the shine had come off, the force and will for the New Labour project had been rejected and the book ends with Gordon walking from Downing Street with tears in his eyes.
Compelling from beginning to end - a must read for anyone wanting to see the intellectual and the visceral shape of New Labour.
The access the author has to internal memos and emails as well as witness accounts makes this book rich with detail - every page having a new development, but well worth reading through.
The book shows how Tony and Gordon made New Labour the force it was, but you also see how the relationship became so toxic it bought the movement to it’s knees.
The relationship between Tony and Gordon, and the all out war from both camps whilst in office, sometimes made uncomfortable reading. It is incredible how bad things actually got between those two.
Tony throughout the book is painted as someone who felt he could walk on water. Someone who was so sure of his views he was almost a man in denial when things went wrong. Motivated by headlines, polls, and presentation rather than trying to make a difference.
The stuff he says to Bush is bordering on the Homoerotic.
Gordon on the other hand is painted as a paranoid angry man waiting in the wings to assume power. A man torn between trying to bring down Blair, but also knowing that an attempt like that could bring him down too. Ultimately this predicament kept the relationship in place just enough for it to work.
In the end they both needed each other.
The book ends with Gordon’s time in power. A man with a personality clearly not made to be number 1, but incredibly good in a crisis. Notably there is huge detail on the financial crisis and Brown’s role in saving Britain from the brink. Something history should give him more credit for.
But ultimately after 13 years of New Labour you see how the shine had come off, the force and will for the New Labour project had been rejected and the book ends with Gordon walking from Downing Street with tears in his eyes.
Compelling from beginning to end - a must read for anyone wanting to see the intellectual and the visceral shape of New Labour.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2021
In a bid to educate myself a little about the political history of my own country, I have been devouring podcasts, biographies and historical accounts of British history in recent months. So I was delighted to come across a copy of The End of the Party at a local charity shop. Born in 1990, with just a faint memory of the last years of the Major government, New Labour provided the political backdrop to much of my childhood and adolescence. I was not, however, a particularly politically-engaged teenager, and beyond the headline events of the War on Terror and the financial crash, much of New Labour's time in office left little impression on my long-term memory.
Therefore, The End of the Party was a welcome, in-depth review of the later years of the Blair government, and the precipitous decline of the party under the leadership of Gordon Brown. There is little point in me covering the various scandals, u-turns, and missed opportunities that characterised the final years of our most recent Labour governments, but suffice it to say that if you are similarly interested in educating yourself on or reliving what were incredibly eventful years in British politics, the ramifications of which are still being felt today, then The End of the Party is well worth your time.
The book is meticulous and insightful, entertaining and still highly relevant. I have withheld a star not because I take issue with the arguments or insights offered within, but simply for reasons of style. Andrew Rawnsley is, of course, a talented writer and journalist; I just personally find his writing a little too self-congratulatory at times, as well as overly littered with too-clever-by-half metaphors. This, however, is a minor complaint, and doesn't detract from what is a monumental achievement in painting in incredible detail a tumultuous period in British history.
Therefore, The End of the Party was a welcome, in-depth review of the later years of the Blair government, and the precipitous decline of the party under the leadership of Gordon Brown. There is little point in me covering the various scandals, u-turns, and missed opportunities that characterised the final years of our most recent Labour governments, but suffice it to say that if you are similarly interested in educating yourself on or reliving what were incredibly eventful years in British politics, the ramifications of which are still being felt today, then The End of the Party is well worth your time.
The book is meticulous and insightful, entertaining and still highly relevant. I have withheld a star not because I take issue with the arguments or insights offered within, but simply for reasons of style. Andrew Rawnsley is, of course, a talented writer and journalist; I just personally find his writing a little too self-congratulatory at times, as well as overly littered with too-clever-by-half metaphors. This, however, is a minor complaint, and doesn't detract from what is a monumental achievement in painting in incredible detail a tumultuous period in British history.
July 20, 2021
No more champagne socialists: untangling the end of the New Labour project is a dauntingly complex task. So much built on relatively flimsy foundations, so many people - most of whom detested each other. Good job then that we have Andrew Rawnsley as a guide and this most terse and witty of political journalists cuts through party spin, internecine rivalries and bad blood with a clear, mostly non-judgmental eye (to be honest, a lot of them act as judge, jury and executioner on themselves).
His second volume rounds out the New Labour subplot of the British political soap opera with Tony Blair’s departure under an Iraqi cloud and the chaotic, self-immolating Brown regime that collapsed under its own inability to find a purpose beyond staying in power. Rawnsley reminds us that New Labour did more to combat inequality than any postwar government except Attlee’s (the poorest were 12% less deprived when they left office and the richest paid 8% more in tax) and the NHS, education and early years were all much improved or reformed. A pity then it all got washed away in the furore over military interventionism, and the psychodramas of Gordon. It was indeed the TBGBs that did for them.
It all feels like ancient history, looking back from a post-austerity, covid-raddled Johnsonian hell mouth, and compared to our current PM, Blair/Brown look like paragons of honesty - les incorruptibles, peut-être. At least there was still some sense they could be accountable. Fairy tales for political spods, and a rattling good read.
His second volume rounds out the New Labour subplot of the British political soap opera with Tony Blair’s departure under an Iraqi cloud and the chaotic, self-immolating Brown regime that collapsed under its own inability to find a purpose beyond staying in power. Rawnsley reminds us that New Labour did more to combat inequality than any postwar government except Attlee’s (the poorest were 12% less deprived when they left office and the richest paid 8% more in tax) and the NHS, education and early years were all much improved or reformed. A pity then it all got washed away in the furore over military interventionism, and the psychodramas of Gordon. It was indeed the TBGBs that did for them.
It all feels like ancient history, looking back from a post-austerity, covid-raddled Johnsonian hell mouth, and compared to our current PM, Blair/Brown look like paragons of honesty - les incorruptibles, peut-être. At least there was still some sense they could be accountable. Fairy tales for political spods, and a rattling good read.
August 20, 2023
The story of New Labour is a psychodrama, a comedy, a triumph and finally a tragedy. The inside story of the rise and fall of one of Britain’s most compelling electoral phenomenons, told through the eyes of its often bizarre and always flawed coterie of insiders, is enrapturing. Mandelson may have once declared that ‘we are all Thatcherites now’, but I think the core thrust of the book is that, actually, all these years later - more than anything we are Blairites. That is both compliment and indictment.
Blair is somebody whose acute political antennae and thirst for popularity were in time blunted and replaced by an almost bloody-minded conflation of unpopularity with intellectual seriousness. Brown, a towering Chancellor, spent a decade undermining his Premier and had no strategy for how to fill his shoes when the time came. Mandelson and Campbell operate in the shadows like pantomime villains throughout, falling in and out of favour.
The tragedy of New Labour is that its central figures were also its undoing. Its legacy was, in equal parts, a decade of rapid progress and prosperity, and an institutionalisation of cynicism, superficiality, gimmick and PM-as-President Americanisation. You cannot understand politics today without understanding this period of time and it is, as such, essential reading.
Blair is somebody whose acute political antennae and thirst for popularity were in time blunted and replaced by an almost bloody-minded conflation of unpopularity with intellectual seriousness. Brown, a towering Chancellor, spent a decade undermining his Premier and had no strategy for how to fill his shoes when the time came. Mandelson and Campbell operate in the shadows like pantomime villains throughout, falling in and out of favour.
The tragedy of New Labour is that its central figures were also its undoing. Its legacy was, in equal parts, a decade of rapid progress and prosperity, and an institutionalisation of cynicism, superficiality, gimmick and PM-as-President Americanisation. You cannot understand politics today without understanding this period of time and it is, as such, essential reading.
May 5, 2018
A good read, enjoyable, and discussant good about the years 2001-maybe 2006. It's let down by the fact that Rawnsley is very clearly a Blairite (though not one afraid of strongly criticising Blair where he went wrong): in every dispute between Blair and Brown, he takes Blair's side; he uncritically presents the comments and analyses of Blair supporters, and is instantly dismissive of anything said by Brown or Brown supporters; and - with the exception of Iraq - he presents Blair's problem as being not standing up to Brown and cultivating rival leaders to him. As far as the author is concerned, Brown single-handedly lost the 2010 election, and Blair's unpopularity before he stood down was all Brown's fault, because of spinning against Blair from the Brown camp and because of political positions Brown forced on Blair. He does not even really absolve Blair from the fundamental flaws of New Labour that led to a sense of alienation and distrust in politics; instead, he does not even consider the accusation as relevant to Blair.
March 9, 2020
One of the fastest 800-page books I've read in a long time. I enjoyed Rawnsley's first book Servants of the People as it would unravel slowly and often arrange individual chapters to each cabinet minister, portraying New Labour's first term with a level of detail and meticulous pacing reminiscent of a great ensemble drama. The sequel focuses almost exclusively on Blair, and how the decisions made in the aftermath of 9/11 transforms him from the shallow but amiable ditherer of the first book into the steely and illiberal conviction politician we recognise today. Gordon Brown, meanwhile, undergoes a deeper psychological descent from a socially awkward Chancellor to a full-blown sociopath. Once he replaces Blair, his desperate attempts to shore up the crumbling New Labour project amidst his mounting paranoia and emotional flare-ups only hastens its demise. Call it The Godfather Part II of British political books.
June 21, 2020
Finished! It took a while, but was well worth it - the writing is thoroughly engaging and surprisingly entertaining. The amount of material gathered to write it as well as the uniqueness of the intelligence make this book all the more interesting, as it covers the insiders' perspective of all the things you have (or have not) read about in the news.
I could only identify two downsides. First, and that is a personal preference, I strongly dislike reading books this long. Splitting it in two or three would make the read a little bit less daunting. Second, given that the 800 or so pages ultimately cover less than a decade, it is at times difficult to orient in time and years are mentioned rarely. Hence, it would be nice to have an edition that had a calendar attached in footnotes or at the beginning of each chapter.
I could only identify two downsides. First, and that is a personal preference, I strongly dislike reading books this long. Splitting it in two or three would make the read a little bit less daunting. Second, given that the 800 or so pages ultimately cover less than a decade, it is at times difficult to orient in time and years are mentioned rarely. Hence, it would be nice to have an edition that had a calendar attached in footnotes or at the beginning of each chapter.
December 16, 2018
I really enjoyed this book, Rawnsley presents a well informed, analytical account of both Blair and Brown's time in government.
Interestingly, Rawnsley shows that while New Labour may have mastered the art of 'spin' in order to win elections, the lack of a defining ideology was the single biggest contributing factor to the party fizzling out after a decade or so in government.
The book also argues that throwing money at problems in the public sector is not necessarily an adequate solution, while they need to be financed properly, Blair actually got to the point where public departments experienced a productivity decrease despite the extra money - in these cases restructuring is more appropriate to modernise the department.
Interestingly, Rawnsley shows that while New Labour may have mastered the art of 'spin' in order to win elections, the lack of a defining ideology was the single biggest contributing factor to the party fizzling out after a decade or so in government.
The book also argues that throwing money at problems in the public sector is not necessarily an adequate solution, while they need to be financed properly, Blair actually got to the point where public departments experienced a productivity decrease despite the extra money - in these cases restructuring is more appropriate to modernise the department.
May 10, 2019
This is a relevant and essential read for those people interested in politics.
I am enjoying reading and watching political memoirs and documentaries to gain an understanding of the chronological timeline that has led to this Brexit mess.
I appreciated that Blair and Brown didn't quite operate with the same mandate, but it was surprising just how deep the hatred and hostilities ran and also from the beginning of Blair's appointment in 1997.
The overriding theme is that the aspirations of no 10 brings out the most abhorrent traits in people, thankless, self serving and mendacious.
I found the book fascinating, well done to the author for a thoroughly researched and constructed tome.
I am enjoying reading and watching political memoirs and documentaries to gain an understanding of the chronological timeline that has led to this Brexit mess.
I appreciated that Blair and Brown didn't quite operate with the same mandate, but it was surprising just how deep the hatred and hostilities ran and also from the beginning of Blair's appointment in 1997.
The overriding theme is that the aspirations of no 10 brings out the most abhorrent traits in people, thankless, self serving and mendacious.
I found the book fascinating, well done to the author for a thoroughly researched and constructed tome.
September 7, 2022
Ratings on the basis of this book alone:
☆☆☆☆
Ratings in the basis to move the Goodreads score:
☆☆☆☆
Rawnley write excellently and paints a fascinating picture if New Labour from it height to the lowest of lows. Really gives you an extensive, insightful, behind the scenes, inside account of all the machinations in politics.
The books is a pretty hefty book. I do feel like there was a weird pacing-structure problem. It kind of ended in an awkward place, seeming to be determined not to touch the 2010 General election in anyway. Much of Brown's bit feels quite rushed, overly focussed on his political failings, his terrible mood and tempers etc. I felt the book dragging at that point.
☆☆☆☆
Ratings in the basis to move the Goodreads score:
☆☆☆☆
Rawnley write excellently and paints a fascinating picture if New Labour from it height to the lowest of lows. Really gives you an extensive, insightful, behind the scenes, inside account of all the machinations in politics.
The books is a pretty hefty book. I do feel like there was a weird pacing-structure problem. It kind of ended in an awkward place, seeming to be determined not to touch the 2010 General election in anyway. Much of Brown's bit feels quite rushed, overly focussed on his political failings, his terrible mood and tempers etc. I felt the book dragging at that point.
November 19, 2019
Fascinating insight into New Labour from Blair to Brown. Follows the early successes of Blair’s first term and shows his struggles against both his Iraq decisions and plotting by Brownites. Comprehensively researched by the author the book leaves the reader wringing their hands in frustration with some of the decisions made and the motivations behind them. The demise of Brown is a little repetitive and does make the boot drag towards the end but then again it is over 700 pages long. Excellent read however
May 8, 2020
Overall a good and thorough account of New Labour. Rawnsley is clearly a Blairite and fairly sympathetic to the New Labour project. It's worth reading Servants of the People, Rawnsley's account of New Labour from 1997-2001, first before reading this book.
The one thing that struck me was the lack of any political ideology at the core of New Labour. Their obsession with managing the press- that started in opposition- was at the heart of everything they did. It also clearly shows that Blair was a true believer in the Iraq war in his own right- not just Bush's poodle.
The one thing that struck me was the lack of any political ideology at the core of New Labour. Their obsession with managing the press- that started in opposition- was at the heart of everything they did. It also clearly shows that Blair was a true believer in the Iraq war in his own right- not just Bush's poodle.
August 22, 2020
Picking up a year after where "Servants of the People" left off, this is more of the same -- and it's great, riveting reading. A devastating portrait of the decline of Blair's premiership and Brown's fairly calamitous time in No. 10. Yes, it's very gossip-y -- and tends to fall for the hyperbolic British press tradition of treating a leader's every political foible as some sort of profound crisis. It's also a very sad book, at least for an American reader -- watching Blair fall prey to self-fulfilling fictions about Iraq (and wondering what could have been had he not).
July 23, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Book 71 of 2024. “The End of the Party: The Rise and Fall of New Labour” by Andrew Rawnsley.
“Andrew Rawnsley’s bestselling The End of the Party lifts the lid on the second half of New Labour’s spell in office.
Through riveting inside accounts of all the key events from 9/11 and the Iraq War to the financial crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal, Rawnsley takes us through the triumphs and tribulations of New Labour. With entertaining portraits of the main playershe exposes the astonishing feuds and reconciliations between Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson.”
“Andrew Rawnsley’s bestselling The End of the Party lifts the lid on the second half of New Labour’s spell in office.
Through riveting inside accounts of all the key events from 9/11 and the Iraq War to the financial crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal, Rawnsley takes us through the triumphs and tribulations of New Labour. With entertaining portraits of the main playershe exposes the astonishing feuds and reconciliations between Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson.”
April 5, 2025
This is a very thorough account of 2001-2010 in British politics. Being a child then and impacted by what happened, but not fully remembering the order and reasonings behind these huge events, this book was incredibly useful. I would say it is mostly non bias and critical when it needs to be, but I did find a bit of undue sympathy the Blair and Campbell which I personally did not agree with. I wonder if this was as they had already left office. Yet the bullying of Brown is called out, and yet sometimes brushed under the table in the bullying of Campbell, for example
February 22, 2023
It is a long read, but I found it really thrilling. I was vaguely aware of what New Labour had achieved while in office, but was a bit young at the time. I thought the New Labour years had all been rosy and plain sailing, but reading this book has really opened my eyes to the chaos that was going on behind the scenes. It puts what's happening currently into perspective and maybe it isn't that unusual. Would highly recommend.
July 9, 2023
A fascinating yet utterly depressing read. 13 years removed from the end of the Labour government I'm well aware this was a massively flawed government but it's still easily the best in my lifetime. Yet this book shows that they were full of the same kind of selfishness and putting their own interests in front of the country's that we've seen in the government that succeeded it.
So stars but I can't say it's a fun read
So stars but I can't say it's a fun read
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