Point of Departure - Hardcover

Cook, Robin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0743252551 ISBN 13: 9780743252553

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd, 2003

Synopsis

On 17 March 2003, Robin Cook, Leader of the House of Commons and former Foreign Secretary, resigned from the Cabinet in protest against the coming war in Iraq. His resignation speech prompted the first standing ovation in the history of the House and marked the end of the ministerial career of one of Labour's most brilliant politicians.

For the previous two years, Robin Cook kept a diary, a personal record of the life of Labour's second term, a diary that forms the core of this narrative. "The Point of Departure" is Robin Cook's unvarnished account of this extraordinary period in our political history. Though surprised by his abrupt dismissal as Foreign Secretary, he became determined to effect the changes in Parliamentary democracy that he believed were essential if Parliament was to move into the 21st century. As Tony Blair told him "this is the job for you".

Drawing on first-hand experiences in the Commons and the Cabinet, of encounters in conferences, corridors, and late-night conversations, we follow his gathering disillusionment as the political compass of the government changes to directions which he believes to be profoundly mistaken: from its failure to bring about Lords reform and its unwillingness to provide leadership for social change, to a foreign policy which has led us away from our destiny in Europe, into alliance with the most right-wing government in American history, and participation in Bush's war on Iraq.

This is the story of a government in power and the tensions between those who govern. But above all, it is the story of a politician who genuinely wanted to bring democracy closer to the people, but who saw a government increasingly detached from the value of himself and his party, and who developed a growing conviction that on Iraq, its position was morally, diplomatically and politically wrong. The first inside account of the Blair government from a holder of one of the great offices of State, incisive, interspersed with moments of personal reflection and humour, devastating in its conclusions, "The Poing of Departure" is the most important political publication of the decade.

About this title

About the Author

Robin Cook was appointed Leader of the House of Commons and President of the Council in June 2002. He held a number of senior positions in Opposition - Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary, Shadow Health Secretary and Social Services Secretary - before becoming Foreign Secretary from 1997 until 2001

Review

This book is great fun to read. It has the authentic touch of both the great and the trivial issues that dominate the daily life and the grind of ministers in any government" Guardian 'Robin Cook's Point of Departure provides the best insight yet into the workings of the Blair cabinet. His diary entries are highly readable, and sometimes very funny' Elinor Goodman, Books of the Year, Sunday Telegraph 30/11 'Cook does not accuse Blair of deliberate deception. Cook's restraint makes an even more damning case. He guides the reader towards a devastating guilty verdict on the Prime Minister without making too many sweeping judgments himself. While narrating a tragic and humiliating failure in foreign policy, Cook also manages to be very funny' Independent on Sunday, Political Books of the Year 14/12 'Instant history can tell us how events appeared before they became obscured in the fog of hindsight. For hindsight is the great enemy of the historian. We forget, all too easily, that what is now in the past once lay in the future. Instant history, especially when, as with Robin Cook's Point of Departure, it is based on the diary of a participant, is history written when the outcome was still unknown' FT, UK Politics 'The best-written and most thoroughly researched of the post-election batch of cabinet biographies,' Peter Kellner, Evening Standard. 'This thoroughly researched and well-crafted biography has both revelations and insights to offer about the life of one of the most intriguing members of this government,' Andrew Rawnsley, Observer 'An admirable instant biography, taking in all its subject's trials and tribulations since he came to office,' Anthony Howard's political books of the year, 1998, Sunday Times "Devastating on how Blair found himself taking Britain to war in the shadow of President Bush, after 'grossly distorting', in Cook's phrase, the threat of Saddam's weapon's to the world" Sunday Times 29/8

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743252551
• ISBN 13: 9780743252553
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368