Last night we played host to politicians, commentators and activists at St John's, Smith Square for the launch event of How to be in Opposition by Nigel Fletcher. Say hello to Nigel >>>>>>>>>
Peanuts and wine flowed. If you can say such a thing about peanuts. No perhaps you can't, the peanuts just sat pretty while people picked at them, and Bruce Anderson and Baroness Royal made their speeches.
The Baroness kindly filled in for Neil Kinnock who unfortunately couldn't make it to talk up his chapter in the book. As Bruce Anderson pointed out, had Kinnock been there to talk about his time in opposition, chances are he'd have said it's the most frustrating role to play! Bruce Anderson did also promise to be brief, but somewhere between the Rabbi, an apple and the Pope, I lost track of time... Needless to say it was entertaining!
And the honorable Biteback achieved a mention in the speeches too. Nigel Fletcher thanked us in his intro *ahem* don't mention it, Nige and then prompted to tell the audience that they had to buy the book or his publishers would chastise him later - us? Never.
Same goes for you though, yeah? Buy a book or get roughed up. No, OK. You're right, I should stick to what I do best:
Opposition matters for many reasons – any political party entering government will have spent a considerable time in opposition, forming a policy programme and preparing to assume office.
How they conduct this process and how successful they are during this period can have a major impact on their administration. Equally, in a democracy the opposition plays a vital role of scrutiny and agenda-setting, holding the government of the day to account.
But opposition can be a miserable job in British politics. Under-resourced, demoralised and ignored, shadow ministers nevertheless have to fulfil the important job of keeping government honest, all the time preparing to take power themselves one day.
It is an often thankless task, with very little support and no handbook to tell you how to do it. Until now.
How to be in Opposition features essays from leading academics and practitioners, combining first-hand accounts of the challenges of life in the shadows with detailed analysis of its opportunities.
There, and I did it without even having to bully you, well, almost.
How to be in Opposition is available now, priced £14.99