Brown, Gordon (Subject)

In his vivid introduction, Peston outlines his long experience of interviewing Gordon Brown, mostly from his time as political editor of the Financial Times from 1995 to 2000. This is not a biography; though Peston does briefly sketch Brown’s background, solely as it relates to his temperament and political beliefs, the book’s intention is to detail the origins and development of the ideological rift between Brown and Blair. As he puts it in the introduction, “in 1994, he lost the leadership and won power. This book is about what he did with that power” (22). As such, Brown’s Britain is meticulous and convincing; there are many instances of phrases such as “X has been widely discussed among journalists, but has never been printed” (338) and countless referrals to sources within the labour party and without, which is somewhat annoying but probably unavoidable. A useful – if partisan – account of the Blair-Brown rift, but not a biography.

In his vivid introduction, Peston outlines his long experience of interviewing Gordon Brown, mostly from his time as political editor of the Financial Times from 1995 to 2000. This is not a biography; though Peston does briefly sketch Brown’s background, solely as it relates to his temperament and political beliefs, the book’s intention is to detail the origins and development of the ideological rift between Brown and Blair. As he puts it in the introduction, “in 1994, he lost the leadership and won power. This book is about what he did with that power” (22). As such, Brown’s Britain is meticulous and convincing; there are many instances of phrases such as “X has been widely discussed among journalists, but has never been printed” (338) and countless referrals to sources within the labour party and without, which is somewhat annoying but probably unavoidable. A useful – if partisan – account of the Blair-Brown rift, but not a biography.