Giles Radice – författare

At crucial moments in modern British history, it has been the actions of pairs of politicians that have changed the course of government. In this original account, acclaimed political biographer Giles Radice shows how combinations of politicians, often with contrasting though complementary talents, have at key 'crossroad moments' worked together to shape events. Despite clashing ambitions, sometimes conflicting, and always strong egos, these leaders were able to overlook their differences in pursuit of a common cause, proving that cooperation can exist between political rivals. As Radice argues, successful pairings usually require an alliance between initiators (such as Churchill, Thatcher, Macmillan and Blair) and facilitators (Attlee, Whitelaw, Butler and Brown). Gordon Brown's eventual inability to accept the power relationship between himself and Tony Blair was the key to the ultimate failure of New Labour and was in contrast to Attlee's loyalty to Churchill or Butler's continuous support for Macmillan.Radice narrates the stories of some of the greatest political players of post-war British politics, showing how their relationships determined the great successes - and sometimes the greatest downfalls - of their careers.

After its disastrous defeat in 2015, Labour is at grave risk of throwing away the 2020 general election. The party has to understand why it suffered such a devastating defeat and learn crucial lessons if it is to recover. The reasons appear obvious enough: the British public did not believe that Ed Miliband was a credible prime minister; people feared that a Labour government would plunge the British economy back into chaos; and they perceived that the party was out of touch on issues like immigration and welfare. Labour was not just narrowly defeated in 2015, it was overwhelmingly rejected by an electorate who no longer trust the party. Underlying all of this is a sense that Labour is a party that does not understand the modern world, wedded to an outdated ‘cloth cap’ image of heavy industry and the monolithic public sector. The risk for the Labour party, like social democratic parties across Europe, is further electoral defeat and then inevitably, permanent irrelevance. As of today, there are few signs that the party grasps why it lost and, in particular, why swing voters in marginal seats were not prepared to vote Labour. A party that does not understand why it was defeated scarcely deserves to be taken seriously by the electorate. This book examines why Labour so overwhelmingly lost the trust of voters, and crucially how the party under a new leader can win them back by 2020 – charting Labour’s path to power.

Blair: charming, charismatic and a great communicator but undermined by an unshakeable conviction that he was right. Brown: in private, warm and witty; in public, an authoritative Chancellor but a wooden and curiously un-self-confident Prime Minister. Mandelson: for Blair, supreme courtier and chief adviser; for Brown, from arch-enemy to polished political life-saver. Among the most controversial figures in Britain's recent history, these three architects of New Labour together shaped Britain - and into the first decade of the 21st century. "Trio" charts their rise to power and their undoubted achievements, both individually and collectively, alongside their quarrels, failings and failures. It offers remarkably clear-sighted portraits of three powerful men who created a new politics in Britain, making Labour electable - and then back again - in 12 turbulent years.