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vikingwolf's review
5.0
Isn't it funny how tastes can change over the years? I'm not talking about books this time though I only started reading political memoirs over the last five years or so but I always had an interest in politics even as a kid. When I was twelve I could name every member of Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet! I grew up in a family of Labour voters with a cloud hanging over the policies of Thatcher, especially in Scotland. So when John Major was Prime Minister, everyone I knew pretty much hated the Tories and thought they didn't do anything good for the ordinary person. It is funny that it is my political leanings that have changed over the years and that is why I love reading about the 1980's and 1990's. Now I can objectively see what the government was trying to do and the policies, fights, scandals...it is interesting to read and look back.
In most memoirs, I don't find much interest in the childhood years and the family tree but I have to admit that John Major's upbringing was different from most MP's. His parents worked as circus performers and music hall stars so it was a far from conventional family life, and he talks about his father's children from other women in and out of his marriages. Major was the family stage name which was adopted for John and he stuck with it. He entered politics as a Conservative councillor in Brixton, fighting the infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech and standing up to racist candidates. This part of the book was interesting as it set the tone for what Major was determined to fight against.
His rise through politics was very speedy and Major himself regrets that it all came about too quickly. Having secured one of the safest Conservative seats in Britain, he swept into Parliament. His jobs included PPS, working in the whip department, Social Security, Minister for the Disabled, and bringing reforms to winter fuel payments. When Major reached the Treasury, Nigel Lawson was the first MP opposing the infamous Poll Tax both economically and politically so as a Treasury official, Major was arguing against the policy. I always find it interesting to see who was for and against the policy. The chapters about these different jobs were fascinating as Major goes into detail what the job entailed, his duties and what was generally going on with the government at the time.
John Major was getting surgery for a wisdom tooth at the time the plot to unseat Margaret Thatcher was beginning so he was not at Parliament when the plotting was in full swing but he still tells what he saw and heard through visitors and phone calls. It was Thatcher who promoted him to a job he did not want as Foreign Secretary but just as he was getting settled there and starting to enjoy it, Nigel Lawson resigned as Chancellor and Major was shocked to suddenly be promoted to the job he had always wanted. He admits that he would have liked more time in both jobs before suddenly being in the frame for Prime Minister. He was chosen to lead the party and country by a lot of his peers and with the full blessing of Thatcher who believed that he would be her man and continue her policies. She was to be mistaken!
There are chapters dedicated to all the main events in his years in power including the Poll Tax discussions, The first Gulf War, The Citizen's Charter, Maastricht Treaty, 1992 General Election win, Black Wednesday, the National Lottery, the Northern Ireland peace process, the summits, Balkan War, fighting allegations of Tory sleaze, his put up or shut up challenge to his backbenchers and the 1997 loss to Labour. He details how Labour stole Tory policies and how Tony Blair copied ideas from Major's own speeches so it seems that the popular soundbites Blair used came often from Major's speeches! Blair was often seen as a Red Tory and I'm starting to see why! The other thing that interested me was of course Major's love of reading, talking of books as cherished friends to be picked up again and again, a sentiment I certainly agree with.
I loved the detail in this book. John Major explains each policy, what it was intended to do, how it was implemented, what went right or wrong. It gives the reader a greater understanding of the policies and the political issues that were going on. It goes very much behind the scenes of the fights and scandals and the battles with the Tory right over Europe that derailed the government and helped them to lose an election. It was fascinating from start to finish yet written so that the ordinary person can understand even the most complex financial issues. It was a brilliant read and my first five star book of the year.
In most memoirs, I don't find much interest in the childhood years and the family tree but I have to admit that John Major's upbringing was different from most MP's. His parents worked as circus performers and music hall stars so it was a far from conventional family life, and he talks about his father's children from other women in and out of his marriages. Major was the family stage name which was adopted for John and he stuck with it. He entered politics as a Conservative councillor in Brixton, fighting the infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech and standing up to racist candidates. This part of the book was interesting as it set the tone for what Major was determined to fight against.
His rise through politics was very speedy and Major himself regrets that it all came about too quickly. Having secured one of the safest Conservative seats in Britain, he swept into Parliament. His jobs included PPS, working in the whip department, Social Security, Minister for the Disabled, and bringing reforms to winter fuel payments. When Major reached the Treasury, Nigel Lawson was the first MP opposing the infamous Poll Tax both economically and politically so as a Treasury official, Major was arguing against the policy. I always find it interesting to see who was for and against the policy. The chapters about these different jobs were fascinating as Major goes into detail what the job entailed, his duties and what was generally going on with the government at the time.
John Major was getting surgery for a wisdom tooth at the time the plot to unseat Margaret Thatcher was beginning so he was not at Parliament when the plotting was in full swing but he still tells what he saw and heard through visitors and phone calls. It was Thatcher who promoted him to a job he did not want as Foreign Secretary but just as he was getting settled there and starting to enjoy it, Nigel Lawson resigned as Chancellor and Major was shocked to suddenly be promoted to the job he had always wanted. He admits that he would have liked more time in both jobs before suddenly being in the frame for Prime Minister. He was chosen to lead the party and country by a lot of his peers and with the full blessing of Thatcher who believed that he would be her man and continue her policies. She was to be mistaken!
There are chapters dedicated to all the main events in his years in power including the Poll Tax discussions, The first Gulf War, The Citizen's Charter, Maastricht Treaty, 1992 General Election win, Black Wednesday, the National Lottery, the Northern Ireland peace process, the summits, Balkan War, fighting allegations of Tory sleaze, his put up or shut up challenge to his backbenchers and the 1997 loss to Labour. He details how Labour stole Tory policies and how Tony Blair copied ideas from Major's own speeches so it seems that the popular soundbites Blair used came often from Major's speeches! Blair was often seen as a Red Tory and I'm starting to see why! The other thing that interested me was of course Major's love of reading, talking of books as cherished friends to be picked up again and again, a sentiment I certainly agree with.
I loved the detail in this book. John Major explains each policy, what it was intended to do, how it was implemented, what went right or wrong. It gives the reader a greater understanding of the policies and the political issues that were going on. It goes very much behind the scenes of the fights and scandals and the battles with the Tory right over Europe that derailed the government and helped them to lose an election. It was fascinating from start to finish yet written so that the ordinary person can understand even the most complex financial issues. It was a brilliant read and my first five star book of the year.
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