Not a Perfect 10

What was the point of Tony Blair, asks the last instalment of Anthony Seldon8217;s biography

Blair Unbound
Anthony Seldon with Peter Snowdon and Peter Collings
Simon 038; Schuster, 22.50
When the long premiership of Tony Blair in England came to an end last June, the muted farewell was in stark contrast to the ecstatic welcome he had received when he led Labour to a landslide win after 18 years in the political cold. As Blair bowed out, the days of Cool Britannia were long forgotten, and a once-much-loved politician found he might have overstayed his welcome. How did this happen? How did Blair, the most convincing politician of his generation, found himself a figure of derision?

For a possible answer, we have to turn to the second and concluding volume of Anthony Seldon8217;s astute biography of Blair. Seldon, a veteran observer of British politics, was permitted by Blair to watch him in action at No. 10 Downing Street, an unprecedented access for which envious biographers would give their writing hand. The result was disliked by Blair and his courtiers, and Seldon has had to resort to more conventional methods of research. Interestingly, this denial of access ended up in people, who may not have otherwise done so, talking to Seldon, realising that he was not a court chronicler 8212; in the process, enriching this volume beyond measure.

Unlike its predecessor, just called Blair, this volume has a slightly intriguing title 8212; Blair Unbound. Clearly, then, he must have previously been bound. By what? First, by the ghost of Labour past. After vanquishing the party oligarchs and turning it into a lean, mean, election machine, Blair took Labour to power. If the first term showed a cool-headed approach to government, the second-term win showed the hardness behind the smile, when he sacked half his ministers. Having subdued the party, he then began to shed those assistants, advisers and comrades who had taken him to the top. Thus, firmly in control of party, government and country, Blair, in a manner of speaking, found himself when 9/11 happened. He bound himself to the US and, accordingly, suffered politically. Seldon ensures that the Blair-Brown relationship and the Iraq war do not overshadow domestic issues, and therein lies the surprise of this book. Seldon shows that instead of Alastair Campbell, Blair8217;s eminence grise and spin meister extraordinaire Anthony Adonis was possibly the person most important in the policy-planning process, especially in the domestic context, and specifically in education.

The years in power took a toll on Blair. The clear-eyed, youthful face gave way to a balding, middle-aged man, with a grim and haunted face, the smile long gone. It is almost as if the idealist who had come to power was replaced by a professional in power. Blair came in as a politician of convictions. By the end, he seems to have become a convinced politician. He will assuredly be unhappy with Seldon8217;s effort, but he may learn that, eventually, history will follow the Seldon verdict: 8220;He began life with a whimper, and went out with something of a bang, though with far less a sound than could have been the case.8221;