The Blairs and Their Court

Front Cover
Tony Blair is the most accomplished politician of his generation. But what is he really like? What does he believe? And what of his wife, Cherie, often considered both more intelligent and more leftwing than her husband? How does she fit into the close circle of confidants and advisers who have, the authors show, determined most of government policy over the past seven years? This book examines the people and experiences that shaped the Blairs, at school and university, as practising barristers and members of Hackney's bitterly divided Labour Party, and as aspiring parliamentary candidates at a time when the party's fortunes were at their lowest ebb. It explains how Tony Blair grabbed the nomination for the safe Labour seat of Sedgefield thanks to an old-fashioned trade union 'fix', and how he subsequently rose, apparently effortlessly, through the ranks of the parliamentary party to the point at which he could execute a swift leadership coup following John Smith's death.

From inside the book

Contents

Preface
113
The Making of Teflon Tony I
117
Chafing Under John Smiths Leadership
122
Copyright

10 other sections not shown

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