People say to learn from history, that it can help you in your current life and in predicting the future. And we try to, honestly, but with the Biteback Christmas party rolling round, we’re not going to lie to your face and tell you we’re not going to wash down our food with champagne, wine, beer, cider, vodka and other unspecific spirits (sometimes all in one big glass, if someone dares us). It’s foolish really that we don’t learn from previous similar events, because normally the clearest memories aren’t of the night in question but the morning after.
This lesson can be applied to anything, from drinking (ir)responsibly to never using the phrase “the cloakroom’s a rip-off, I’ll go without a jacket tonight”, but, as Joe Haines suggests, it can also be applied to politics. Haines has written a review of Nigel Lawson’s Memoirs of a Tory Radical in Tribune, a magazine that seems to rather like us (also see review of Paul Richards's Labour’s Revival). In it he states:
With so many parallels being drawn between today and the days of the Thatcher government, Lawson’s experience as a key minister for a full decade and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1983 to 1989 marks him as the definitive voice to be listened to above the modern cries of student rioters and union officials. His writing, detailing his time in government with candour, clarity and depth, tells the remarkable story of his time at the heart of the political world, and the book includes a final chapter reflecting on events from the perspective of 2010.
If only we had a Big-Brother-style system for checking the names of those who have bought the book, then we could see if any Johnsons, Osbornes or Millibands have read this key historical document. Unfortunately, we don’t (for various reasons set out in personal privacy laws), but we can tell you that, if the people making decisions today haven’t already read it, they should.
Memoirs of a Tory Radical by Nigel Lawson is available here for £14.99