Labour Takes Power

With the strong possibility of Labour forming our next government in2024, it is fascinating to consider the last time the party stood on the vergeof power, back in 1997. At that time, future Europe Minister Denis MacShanehad a ringside seat that he would occupy for the next decade or so, livingthrough the Cool Britannia years, the Good Friday Agreement, Peter Mandelson'stwo resignations, Princess Diana's death and Tony Blair's seeminginvincibility. New Labour may be remembered as an unstoppable force, but whatMacShane's diaries reveal is that whilst all seemed outwardly to be goingwell, the personal rivalries, slights and petty jealousies of the party's bigbeasts meant that it was never far from disaster. MacShane was a regular inDowning Street from the moment of Labour's election victory, and hisindiscreet, gossipy diaries show figures such as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown,Robin Cook, Peter Mandelson, Clare Short and Alastair Campbell in a light inwhich they've never before been seen, detailing the personalities as much asthe politics of Labour's most successful stint in government.