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First up are "The Alan Clarke Diaries".
There are 3 volumes which cover the time from his entry into politics, right up until his death. Basically, the diaries give one an idea of the day to day life of a backbench MP both in Government, and in Opposition.
However, just leaving it at that is to sell them short; the diaries are full of characters, not least of which is Clark himself. He comes across almost as an anachronism; a member of the landed nobility who is constantly worrying about money. A vegetarian animal lover who described the National Front as "good and brave". A man very much against injustice, yet who objected to the bombing of Kosovo because we shouldn't "bomb a Christian country for the benefit of Muslims". He was a man of strong opinions and who spoke his mind, even when it was to his detriment. Yet he is also incredibly candid about the toadying and begging he did in order to rise to higher office, and has no problems with allowing us to read about his most loathesome examples of brownnosing behaviour. However, in comparison to the professional toadies of the Tory party, he comes over extremely favourably; maybe he is a creep, but he's at least honest about it.
His relationship with the Labour MP's is rather telling too; he gets on well with the Eric Skinner, the Beast of Bolsover, the most left wing man in the house; although they disagree on pretty much everything they seem to have a respect for one another. A far cry from the desire for polarised politics, the dream of intellectual and moral pygmies everywhere.
We get glimpses of what an amazingly strong and forgiving woman his wife was (and is), of how there really are no friends in politics, and how it is necessary to betray friends and walk arm in arm with enemies in order to progress. It is a fascinating read, not just for right wingers but for everyone interested in politics.
Secondly, we have a book called "Lend Me Your Ears" by everybody's favourite Tory, Boris Johnson.
Now I like Boris, as his harrumphing self-depreciative performances on HIGNFY have given him something that the Tory party in their entirety are lacking; public affection. As such, one is far more receptive to his views than one is to, say, the oily and evasive Michael Howard. This book is a collection of his essays and columns for the Spectator and the Telegraph over the last 15 years.
They provide a window into what the conservative party represented before being hijacked by faceless, soulless, money-hungry, empty headed charlatans; he is in favour of individual freedoms, freedom of speech and expression, tradition, immigration, 'britishness' (though not in a racist sense). He is firmly against Europe (though unlike the usual "They're foreign" objection of Tories, his objections are based on rather better grounds. He spent several years working in the EU and was not impressed by what he saw), the victimisation of minorities by governments, and the continual spin and attempts at rendering some statements no different to thoughtcrime of the Labour Party.
Essentially, after reading the book, one is left with the impression that the Britain Boris is living in is a Britain which hasn't existed for 40 years, if at all. Whilst I found myself broadly in agreement with his ideals, I found that when it came to applying them to specific examples, he simply didn't have a grasp of life for the average person in 21st century Britain. Whilst he is entirely right to lambast the cynical opportunism and self serving pragmatism of Labour, and whilst he acknowledges the loathing many have for the Tory party now, he seems blind to the fact that most people are politically apathetic these days and so don't much care about any of this, as long as tomorrow is much the same as today. Which is a shame, as he makes the most publically acceptible face the Tories are likely to have for a long time.
There are 3 volumes which cover the time from his entry into politics, right up until his death. Basically, the diaries give one an idea of the day to day life of a backbench MP both in Government, and in Opposition.
However, just leaving it at that is to sell them short; the diaries are full of characters, not least of which is Clark himself. He comes across almost as an anachronism; a member of the landed nobility who is constantly worrying about money. A vegetarian animal lover who described the National Front as "good and brave". A man very much against injustice, yet who objected to the bombing of Kosovo because we shouldn't "bomb a Christian country for the benefit of Muslims". He was a man of strong opinions and who spoke his mind, even when it was to his detriment. Yet he is also incredibly candid about the toadying and begging he did in order to rise to higher office, and has no problems with allowing us to read about his most loathesome examples of brownnosing behaviour. However, in comparison to the professional toadies of the Tory party, he comes over extremely favourably; maybe he is a creep, but he's at least honest about it.
His relationship with the Labour MP's is rather telling too; he gets on well with the Eric Skinner, the Beast of Bolsover, the most left wing man in the house; although they disagree on pretty much everything they seem to have a respect for one another. A far cry from the desire for polarised politics, the dream of intellectual and moral pygmies everywhere.
We get glimpses of what an amazingly strong and forgiving woman his wife was (and is), of how there really are no friends in politics, and how it is necessary to betray friends and walk arm in arm with enemies in order to progress. It is a fascinating read, not just for right wingers but for everyone interested in politics.
Secondly, we have a book called "Lend Me Your Ears" by everybody's favourite Tory, Boris Johnson.
Now I like Boris, as his harrumphing self-depreciative performances on HIGNFY have given him something that the Tory party in their entirety are lacking; public affection. As such, one is far more receptive to his views than one is to, say, the oily and evasive Michael Howard. This book is a collection of his essays and columns for the Spectator and the Telegraph over the last 15 years.
They provide a window into what the conservative party represented before being hijacked by faceless, soulless, money-hungry, empty headed charlatans; he is in favour of individual freedoms, freedom of speech and expression, tradition, immigration, 'britishness' (though not in a racist sense). He is firmly against Europe (though unlike the usual "They're foreign" objection of Tories, his objections are based on rather better grounds. He spent several years working in the EU and was not impressed by what he saw), the victimisation of minorities by governments, and the continual spin and attempts at rendering some statements no different to thoughtcrime of the Labour Party.
Essentially, after reading the book, one is left with the impression that the Britain Boris is living in is a Britain which hasn't existed for 40 years, if at all. Whilst I found myself broadly in agreement with his ideals, I found that when it came to applying them to specific examples, he simply didn't have a grasp of life for the average person in 21st century Britain. Whilst he is entirely right to lambast the cynical opportunism and self serving pragmatism of Labour, and whilst he acknowledges the loathing many have for the Tory party now, he seems blind to the fact that most people are politically apathetic these days and so don't much care about any of this, as long as tomorrow is much the same as today. Which is a shame, as he makes the most publically acceptible face the Tories are likely to have for a long time.
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First up are "The Alan Clarke Diaries".
There are 3 volumes which cover the time from his entry into politics, right up until his death. Basically, the diaries give one an idea of the day to day life of a backbench MP both in Government, and in Opposition.
However, just leaving it at that is to sell them short; the diaries are full of characters, not least of which is Clark himself. He comes across almost as an anachronism; a member of the landed nobility who is constantly worrying about money. A vegetarian animal lover who described the National Front as "good and brave". A man very much against injustice, yet who objected to the bombing of Kosovo because we shouldn't "bomb a Christian country for the benefit of Muslims". He was a man of strong opinions and who spoke his mind, even when it was to his detriment. Yet he is also incredibly candid about the toadying and begging he did in order to rise to higher office, and has no problems with allowing us to read about his most loathesome examples of brownnosing behaviour. However, in comparison to the professional toadies of the Tory party, he comes over extremely favourably; maybe he is a creep, but he's at least honest about it.
His relationship with the Labour MP's is rather telling too; he gets on well with the Eric Skinner, the Beast of Bolsover, the most left wing man in the house; although they disagree on pretty much everything they seem to have a respect for one another. A far cry from the desire for polarised politics, the dream of intellectual and moral pygmies everywhere.
We get glimpses of what an amazingly strong and forgiving woman his wife was (and is), of how there really are no friends in politics, and how it is necessary to betray friends and walk arm in arm with enemies in order to progress. It is a fascinating read, not just for right wingers but for everyone interested in politics.
Secondly, we have a book called "Lend Me Your Ears" by everybody's favourite Tory, Boris Johnson.
Now I like Boris, as his harrumphing self-depreciative performances on HIGNFY have given him something that the Tory party in their entirety are lacking; public affection. As such, one is far more receptive to his views than one is to, say, the oily and evasive Michael Howard. This book is a collection of his essays and columns for the Spectator and the Telegraph over the last 15 years.
They provide a window into what the conservative party represented before being hijacked by faceless, soulless, money-hungry, empty headed charlatans; he is in favour of individual freedoms, freedom of speech and expression, tradition, immigration, 'britishness' (though not in a racist sense). He is firmly against Europe (though unlike the usual "They're foreign" objection of Tories, his objections are based on rather better grounds. He spent several years working in the EU and was not impressed by what he saw), the victimisation of minorities by governments, and the continual spin and attempts at rendering some statements no different to thoughtcrime of the Labour Party.
Essentially, after reading the book, one is left with the impression that the Britain Boris is living in is a Britain which hasn't existed for 40 years, if at all. Whilst I found myself broadly in agreement with his ideals, I found that when it came to applying them to specific examples, he simply didn't have a grasp of life for the average person in 21st century Britain. Whilst he is entirely right to lambast the cynical opportunism and self serving pragmatism of Labour, and whilst he acknowledges the loathing many have for the Tory party now, he seems blind to the fact that most people are politically apathetic these days and so don't much care about any of this, as long as tomorrow is much the same as today. Which is a shame, as he makes the most publically acceptible face the Tories are likely to have for a long time.
There are 3 volumes which cover the time from his entry into politics, right up until his death. Basically, the diaries give one an idea of the day to day life of a backbench MP both in Government, and in Opposition.
However, just leaving it at that is to sell them short; the diaries are full of characters, not least of which is Clark himself. He comes across almost as an anachronism; a member of the landed nobility who is constantly worrying about money. A vegetarian animal lover who described the National Front as "good and brave". A man very much against injustice, yet who objected to the bombing of Kosovo because we shouldn't "bomb a Christian country for the benefit of Muslims". He was a man of strong opinions and who spoke his mind, even when it was to his detriment. Yet he is also incredibly candid about the toadying and begging he did in order to rise to higher office, and has no problems with allowing us to read about his most loathesome examples of brownnosing behaviour. However, in comparison to the professional toadies of the Tory party, he comes over extremely favourably; maybe he is a creep, but he's at least honest about it.
His relationship with the Labour MP's is rather telling too; he gets on well with the Eric Skinner, the Beast of Bolsover, the most left wing man in the house; although they disagree on pretty much everything they seem to have a respect for one another. A far cry from the desire for polarised politics, the dream of intellectual and moral pygmies everywhere.
We get glimpses of what an amazingly strong and forgiving woman his wife was (and is), of how there really are no friends in politics, and how it is necessary to betray friends and walk arm in arm with enemies in order to progress. It is a fascinating read, not just for right wingers but for everyone interested in politics.
Secondly, we have a book called "Lend Me Your Ears" by everybody's favourite Tory, Boris Johnson.
Now I like Boris, as his harrumphing self-depreciative performances on HIGNFY have given him something that the Tory party in their entirety are lacking; public affection. As such, one is far more receptive to his views than one is to, say, the oily and evasive Michael Howard. This book is a collection of his essays and columns for the Spectator and the Telegraph over the last 15 years.
They provide a window into what the conservative party represented before being hijacked by faceless, soulless, money-hungry, empty headed charlatans; he is in favour of individual freedoms, freedom of speech and expression, tradition, immigration, 'britishness' (though not in a racist sense). He is firmly against Europe (though unlike the usual "They're foreign" objection of Tories, his objections are based on rather better grounds. He spent several years working in the EU and was not impressed by what he saw), the victimisation of minorities by governments, and the continual spin and attempts at rendering some statements no different to thoughtcrime of the Labour Party.
Essentially, after reading the book, one is left with the impression that the Britain Boris is living in is a Britain which hasn't existed for 40 years, if at all. Whilst I found myself broadly in agreement with his ideals, I found that when it came to applying them to specific examples, he simply didn't have a grasp of life for the average person in 21st century Britain. Whilst he is entirely right to lambast the cynical opportunism and self serving pragmatism of Labour, and whilst he acknowledges the loathing many have for the Tory party now, he seems blind to the fact that most people are politically apathetic these days and so don't much care about any of this, as long as tomorrow is much the same as today. Which is a shame, as he makes the most publically acceptible face the Tories are likely to have for a long time.