Andrew Adonis

Fascinating book about the formation of the Conservative/Lib-Dem coalition government, told from from a Labour insider's point of view. Andrew Adonis was a senior Labour politician near the center of Labour's negotiations, and is apparently keen to ensure that history is not always written by the victors. The major part of the book is an engrossing account of the 5 days, complete with the deals, sniping, politicking and big characters that you would expect, and this was written shortly after the events related, even though Adonis didn't wish to publish then.

After that there are two short essays written three years later, which give a very interesting perspective on the events. In reading the book, I felt that (Lib Dem leader) Nick Clegg and senior Lib Dems idealogically would have rather been with Labour, but felt that tying themselves to an unpopular party, weary from 13 years of government, might have been very damaging. In the later essay, Adonis believes that Clegg and one of his advisors, David Laws, shared the Tory outlook on an austerity economy (as opposed to the more Keynesian view of Labour, and many Lib Dems), and so cleaved to the Conservatives. In either case, the Lib Dems were at least partially keeping up the Labour negotiations to extract concessions from the Tories.

There is a simmering anger behind Adonis' detached prose, and there is certainly some bias involved too - perhaps some Lib Dem actions are interepreted uncharitably, some Labour arrogance downplayed. Still, it is difficult not to avoid the conclusion that the Lib Dems have probably done worse by throwing in with the Tories.

I applaud Adonis for keeping the book short - its impact is far greater for its brevity. An understatedly passionate, compelling account of real politics in action, a fascinating and important period in UK politics.
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At the time of writing this review in early April 2015, the polls are pointing strongly towards the next UK government consisting of a coalition, which until five years ago was something not seen in this country since the Second World War, and not seen for even longer in peacetime. This is a fascinating insider account written around the time by Labour's Lord Adonis of the five days of negotiations that took place between the parties immediately after the 2010 general election on Thursday 6 May and the formation of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition on the evening of Tuesday 11 May. The progress of the negotiations between Labour and the Liberal Democrats to prevent the Conservatives coming to power is clearly told here from Labour's perspective, but Adonis is quite well respected across the political spectrum and not generally seen as a tribal politician, so the account carries conviction.

The five days saw many twists and turns, but ultimately failed due a number of first and second order factors. Ultimately, Nick Clegg and David Laws saw themselves as more naturally Conservative-inclined on economic policy, as opposed to the social democratic Labour inclinations of figures like Vince Cable, Menzies Campbell and Paddy Ashdown. The premiership of Gordon Brown was seen as a major obstacle to the success of a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition working, yet could also not even get off the ground without his being in charge as the existing Prime Minister for at least an initial period of some months. In addition, while Adonis is right to argue that: (a) the combined number of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs slightly exceeded the number of Conservative MPs, and that: (b) the minor parties had little or no reason to vote to support the Conservatives against this outcome, I think that this putative coalition lacked conviction as a basis for "solid, stable and principled government", notwithstanding the potential for a progressive realignment that it might have afforded if the numbers had been different (if Labour had been the largest party in the hung parliament, and/or if the combined Labour/Liberal Democrat total had given an overall majority, or something very close to this).

The final quarter of this book was written nearly three years later and offers an insight on what Adonis sees as the successes and weaknesses of the current coalition government from the point of view of 2013, and of coalition governments in general, and offers some pointers to any future coalition, especially one between Labour and the Liberal Democrats (though if the 2015 outcome reflects the low current polling position of the Liberal Democrats, there may not be enough of the latter to make this viable, even if Labour were to emerge as the biggest single party).

Well, we'll find out in just over a month....… (mehr)

If I am to be honest, I can't, legitimately, call Andrew Adonis a close personal friend. A few years ago I lent a book (and what a book! Iain Pears's 'The Dream of Scipio') to my friend and colleague in the Department for Education, David Bell. He in turn lent it to his namesake, the Department's Permanent Secretary, Sir David Bell, who then passed it on to Lord Adonis who was, in his guise as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for School, one of our Ministers. Lord Adonis returned it to me through the internal post with a very gracious hand-written note, but that marked the full extent of our contact.

Having read his fascinating account of the development and implementation of the academies programme across school I am amazed he found the time for leisure reading, even for such a marvellous novel as 'The Dream of Scipio'. He conceived the programme as a response to his own experiences as a child growing up in relative poverty, and under the care and maintenance of the London Borough of Camden. Clearly immensely talented, Adonis experienced both ends of the spectrum when it came to his own education, suffering for a while at an utterly inadequate school where bullies ran rife and the teachers had lost the will, energy and even the basic engagement to intervene. At his next school, however, he found himself being taught be a selection of excellent, engaged and engaging teachers, and he thrived to the extent that he landed a place at Oxford University, where he subsequently became a lecturer.

From there he progressed, through various intermediary roles, to being one of Tony Blair's advisers at No. 10, where he started putting together his plan for the roll out of academies. Independent state-funded schools with external sponsorship, and a governance structure that left them free from intervention by the local authority. The book details how he gradually came to persuade a succession of Secretaries of State in the Education Department (and there have been a fair few of them: I have worked in the department for fourteen years and have seen eight of them come and go!) to embark upon the programme, though he was encumbered by his position as an éminence grise which limited his capacity for hand on engagement. As a succession of Secretaries of State wove their temporary way through Sanctuary Buildings, the Department's headquarters under the shadow of Westminster Abbey, he became increasingly frustrated as none of them showed the same zeal as him for promoting academies. David Blunkett, Estelle Morris, Charles Clarke and Ruth Kelly all came and went without ever being galvanised into academisation! But then Alan Johnson was appointed, and he seemed to understand the idea immediately. There had, however, been a new development. Adonis was no longer working from the No. 10 bunker. Following his third general election victory in 2005 Tony Blair elevated Adonis to the House of Lords and made him Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools. This gave him the opening to accelerate the programme, and he seized it with alacrity. The book tells of how the programme grew from strength to strength with numbers of opened academies leaping forward exponentially.

One of the great strengths of Lord Adonis that becomes apparent from this book is his urge to make things better rather than to score political points. Having always been known as a 'Blairite' he worried about the impact for the programme of Gordon Brown's elevation to Prime Minister following Blair's resignation in June 2007, and the consequential appointment of Ed Balls, Brownite extraordinaire, to the position of Secretary of State. He was, however, able to convince Brown of the value of the programme in a single meeting, and thereafter, for the rest of that administration, funding flowed into academies as never before.

A greater test of the merit of the programme was to ensue in 2010 following the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government. Ed Balls was succeeded as Secretary of State for Education by Michael Gove, who proved to be as ardent an advocate of the academy programme as Lord Adonis himself. The programme has continued to expand throughout the whole of that administration, and now more than half of state-funded secondary schools in England are academies. As a true bipartisan pragmatic politician Adonis is very even-handed in his treatment of the Conservatives' education policy and their programme of extensive curriculum and qualification reform. He doesn't agree with everything that the Coalition Government has done, but he doesn't score points simply for the sake of it.

The book is fascinating. He writes very clearly and avoids jargon. There is no political axe to grind. Adonis emerges from these pages as a latter-day Renaissance Man, who looked back to his own challenging experiences and simply wanted to make things better. Perhaps in subsequent editions he might even add a reference to borrowing my book!… (mehr)

Andrew Adonis’ account of the interregnum between the 2010 General Election and the formation of the coalition. Captures the intensity of that period and details how Labour could feasibly have formed a coalition with the Lib Dems. Gordon Brown comes out of it particularly well, demonstrating a sharpness of his thinking and force of argument whereas Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems don’t, damned from the start as actively seeking to govern with the Conservatives. (It should of course be remembered that this is a shamelessly partisan Labour account).

Adonis has an excellent eye for detail on the mistakes Labour made at the time (and before), particularly with regards to Clegg’s background and that they failed to realise he’s essentially a pro-European Tory by inclination. Has to be read with the consideration that it’s self-admittedly shamelessly partial, but essential to anyone interested in modern British politics and the later postscript is a thoughtful take on the consequences of what happened in those ten days… (mehr)