Labour Takes Power

With the strong possibility of Labour forming our next government in 2024, it is fascinating to consider the last time the party stood on the verge of power, back in 1997. At that time, future Europe Minister Denis MacShane had a ringside seat that he would occupy for the next decade or so, living through the Cool Britannia years, the Good Friday Agreement, Peter Mandelson's two resignations, Princess Diana's death and Tony Blair's seeming invincibility. New Labour may be remembered as an unstoppable force, but what MacShane's diaries reveal is that whilst all seemed outwardly to be going well, the personal rivalries, slights and petty jealousies of the party's big beasts meant that it was never far from disaster. MacShane was a regular in Downing Street from the moment of Labour's election victory, and his indiscreet, gossipy diaries show figures such as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Robin Cook, Peter Mandelson, Clare Short and Alastair Campbell in a light in which they've never before been seen, detailing the personalities as much as the politics of Labour's most successful stint in government.