Heroes or Villains?: The Blair Government Reconsidered

Tony Blair was the political colossus in Britain for thirteen years, winning three elections in a row for New Labour, two of them by huge majorities. However, since leaving office he has been disowned by many in his own party, with the term 'Blairite' becoming an insult.\nThe election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader in 2015 seemed to be, if not an equal, at least an opposite reaction to Blair's long dominance of the centre and left of British politics. Drawing on new contributions from most of the main players in the Blair government, including Tony Blair himself, Jon Davis and John Rentoul reconsider the history and common view of New Labour against its record of delivering moderate social democracy. They show how New Labour was not one party but two, and how it essentially governed as a coalition, much like the government that followed it.\nThis book tells the inside story of how Tony Blair worked out, late in the day, his ideas for improving the NHS and school reform; how he groped towards, and was eventually defined by, a foreign policy of liberal interventionism; how he managed a difficult relationship with his Chancellor for ten years; and how Gordon Brown finally took over just as the boom went bust and the New Labour era came to an end. Rentoul and Davis reveal how the governing tribes dealt with each other in the New Labour years: not simply the 'Blairites' and the 'Brownites', but the 'temporary' ministers and the 'permanent', under-reported civil servants who worked alongside them.\nMany of the arguments that raged within and around the Blair government of 1997-2007 remain very much alive: reform of public services; the right course for the divided Labour Party; and the Iraq war. The Blair Government Reconsidered aims at a balanced account of how decisions were made, to allow the reader to make up their own mind about controversies that still dominate politics today.

History

Davis, Jon

Rentoul, John

Europe

Oxford University Press

Tony Blair was the political colossus in Britain for thirteen years, winning three elections in a row for New Labour, two of them by huge majorities. However, since leaving office he has been disowned by many in his own party, with the term 'Blairite' becoming an insult. The election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader in 2015 seemed to be, if not an equal, at least an opposite reaction to Blair's long dominance of the centre and left of British politics. Drawing on new contributions from most of the main players in the Blair government, including Tony Blair himself, Jon Davis and John Rentoul reconsider the history and common view of New Labour against its record of delivering moderate social democracy. They show how New Labour was not one party but two, and how it essentially governed as a coalition, much like the government that followed it. This book tells the inside story of how Tony Blair worked out, late in the day, his ideas for improving the NHS and school reform; how he groped towards, and was eventually defined by, a foreign policy of liberal interventionism; how he managed a difficult relationship with his Chancellor for ten years; and how Gordon Brown finally took over just as the boom went bust and the New Labour era came to an end. Rentoul and Davis reveal how the governing tribes dealt with each other in the New Labour years: not simply the 'Blairites' and the 'Brownites', but the 'temporary' ministers and the 'permanent', under-reported civil servants who worked alongside them. Many of the arguments that raged within and around the Blair government of 1997-2007 remain very much alive: reform of public services; the right course for the divided Labour Party; and the Iraq war. The Blair Government Reconsidered aims at a balanced account of how decisions were made, to allow the reader to make up their own mind about controversies that still dominate politics today.

Tony Blair

Title: TONY BLAIR

Biographies & Memoirs

Little,Brown

Last updated in 2001, John Rentoul's acclaimed Tony Blair: Prime Minister returns with an extensive new assessment of Blair's premiership after '9/11' - from the Iraq war and relations with Gordon Brown to his departure from Downing Street and political afterlife.  'Well written, thoroughly researched and informed by the balanced and subtle insights of a skilled journalist... Especially good on the influences that have shaped Mr Blair.' Economist 'Utterly scrupulous in presenting the [] information... [W]hen Rentoul occasionally presents his own judgements, they can rarely be faulted.' Peter Oborne, Sunday Express 'Written with care, thought... and a fine understanding of political nuances.' Ben Pimlott 'An extraordinary achievement, flashing with a peculiarly devastating form of sympathy.' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday 'With further updates, this biography will almost certainly become the definitive one.' Rachel Sylvester, Daily Telegraph

Historical

Faber&Faber

John Rentoul's first biography of Tony Blair appeared in 1995, not long after the politician's election as leader of the Labour Party. Two years later Blair presided over the party's landslide election victory—a tremendous affirmation of his popularity and a great vindication for the modernizers he led. But as New Labour settles into its historic second term, is that popularity still there? Has Blair and the party he helped reinvent delivered on their promises? What sort of government does he lead, and is Britain anything like the country he claimed he could create? These are the questions at the heart of John Rentoul's searching new biography. Not just an updated version of the earlier work, but an entirely fresh approach to his subject, Tony Blair: Prime Minister includes a wealth of new material and represents the definitive account of a man whose potential has now been put to the biggest test of all—power.

Tony Blair: Prime Minister

Leaders & Notable People

Little, Brown Book Group

Every week in the Independent on Sunday, John Rentoul publishes a top ten based on suggestions from the great British public, covering a wide range of pressing issues. Now collected together for the first time, and featuring previously unpublished lists, this is a book of open arguments that will ask readers to continue the discussion and contribute to the great debate online.

Listellany: A Miscellany of Very British Top Tens, From Politics to Pop

Humor & Entertainment

Puzzles & Games

Elliott Thompson

A manifesto for clear writing and an indictment of the damage done to the English language by the use of jargon John Rentoul examines how poor writing and a reliance on jargon have damaged our ability to communicate with each other and makes the case for the use of clear English. He addresses the verbification of nouns, the use of waffle to pad out a simple statement, and the importing of business jargon into everyday situations. Unashamedly polemical in tone, his essay condemning contemporary linguistic atrocities is the perfect read for anyone who has ever had the misfortune to read a public policy report on key deliverables or a newspaper article about the latest game-changer.

The Banned List

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

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Books by Rentoul, John