Suki Ferguson finds Brown at 10 to be a candid gem of political history, in which the former Prime Minister comes across as a man of sincere principle

Ferguson, Suki

English

LSE Research Online

blogs.lse.ac.uk http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/2011/09/25/book-review-brown-at-10/Book Review: Brown at 10Suki Ferguson finds Brown at 10 to be a candid gem of political history, in which the former PrimeMinister comes across as a man of sincere principle.Brown at 10. Anthony Seldon & Guy Lodge. Biteback. 2010.Find this book: Google Books Amazon LSE LibraryBrown at 10 was published at the end of 2010, just six months after Brownhimself shut that famous door behind him once and for all. You might expecta rush-job, but Anthony Seldon is a master of  modern political history – inthe past twenty years he has written 15 books on UK politics, including anacclaimed account of Tony Blair’s time as Prime Minister, plus severalaccounts of Conservative leadership. He proves to be an thorough yetjudicious guide to Brown’s time as leader. An insider’s perspective is ablysupplied by Guy Lodge, an IPPR political consultant and one-time Brownadvisor.Brown at 10 closely resembles a doorstop in size and heft, and the print isalarmingly dense. Happily, what the print says is more than enough to diverta potential reader from less daunting reading projects – the story of Brown’sbitter victory over Blair and his struggles to earn the respect of the would-beelectorate, the press, and even his own party is riveting from beginning toend. It’s a story we all know – indeed, it’s recent enough that Brown at 10gives you an uncanny sense of premature nostalgia – but it’s the inclusion ofa stream of gossipy detail that makes this retelling so vivid. Unnamed insidesources pile in, offering the titbits of intimacy, such as the news that he “readobscure blogs to see who was attacking him” and that his team regarded itas “very pathetic.” Brown may have championed his loyal followers, but it seems that very few maintainedthat loyalty.The account is tightly focused – Brown’s life history is conspicuous by its absence, and the reader isassumed to be conversant with his earlier career. The emphasis lies squarely on his actions as premier, andSeldon uses this information to build up a highly nuanced portrait of Brown as a man. The word ‘flawed’crops up a lot, but there is an equal amount of attention given to his strengths and the traits that attracteddevotion from his supporters. His dourness, paranoia, and tribal instincts get plenty of page time, but so toodo his dedication, intellectual ability and commitment to international development. Though Brown’s tendencyto dither and blunder was disappointing to observe during his premiership, here it is presented with enoughpsychological insight to humanise him. And the distancing nature of prose elevates him; though hisaggressive ambition was ugly to behold in person, here he is transformed into an anti-heroic schemer of theMacbeth mould.Part of this effect is due to Seldon’s predilection for hyperbole – Brown seemingly reaches his ‘lowest point’ adozen times, his premiership was continually ‘on the rocks’ and Seldon’s breathless accounts of theunderwhelming ‘coups’ conducted by the Labour Cabinet led me to wonder how he would go aboutdescribing, say, Brutus’s betrayal of Caesar. I’m sure it would be deliriously sensational, but sometimes that’snot quite the appropriate style for a trustworthy historical description.This is one small and easily ignored flaw in the telling; another similar issue is the slight but consistent NewLabour bias. Peter Mandelson is presented in a curiously flattering light, as is Alistair Campbell, when heappears; conversely, here Ed Balls is a thuggish puppet-master with little to recommend him. All evidenceindicates that yes, Balls is the bullying kind – but what of Mandelson and Campbell, whose tarnishedreputations are barely mentioned? Still, even a novice Westminster watcher will be able to discern these littlenarrative foibles for themselves, and it would be a remarkable tome that revealed nothing of the authors’ ownpet perspectives.My final quibble, however, is not with the writers, but with the editor. The only hint at the book’s shortgestation period is the frequent incidence of phrases and clauses that are repeated in their entirety. Thefrequent incidence of phrases and clauses that are repeated in their entirety. [Did you spot that one, Brownat 10 editor? Annoying, isn’t it?!] I was reminded of Ed Miliband’s chilling June interview faux pas, which isnever nice – particularly when one is enjoying an otherwise excellent book.Brown at 10 is, at first glance, comprehensive to a fault. But by charting each high and low of Brown’s time inoffice with such diligent research, and with such animated language, Seldon manages the trick of being bothfair to his subject and interesting to his audience. One thing is certain – Seldon and Lodge’s combined focusresult in Brown being scrutinized as closely as a moth skewered by a collector’s pin. I can imagine that this isno pleasant experience for him – after all, drab moths are far less suited to a critical gaze than shiny politicalbutterflies like Blair or Cameron – but to his credit, he comes across as a man of sincere principle, unlike thelatter pair. A small victory perhaps, but one worth taking pride in nonetheless.This book is a candid gem of political history – I recommend it to anyone interested in what goes on behindthe scenes. Even though we all know how this story ends, you’ll find yourself gripped by this version of how itcame to pass.Suki Ferguson is a University of Sussex English Literature graduate (2009) and currently works as afreelance writer. Read more about Suki on our reviewers page.

Book review: Brown at 10

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