22nd December 2007

David Marquand, Ramsay MacDonald
Taken a while to read thanks to a drastic change in routine! Fred's put on a whole pound while I've been reading it, and has developed a very cute Frankie Howerd face when he wants feeding. The biography was sympathetic towards Ramsay Mac, particularly as it was written in the 'sixties, when the 1931 betrayal was fresh in memories. The parallels between Ramsay and Blair were frequent; Leaders semi-detached from their own parties, concentration on foreign policy, and determination to make the Labour Party acceptable to middle-of-the-road voters. Strange that 2 of the 3 most electorally successful Labour leaders both appear to have had such disdain for their own party.
The true moral is less palatable. It is that a radical party requires, not merely high ideals and skilful leadership, but intellectual confidence and a willingness to jettison cherished assumptions in the face of changing realities. It is an easy moral to formulate. Half a century of British history bears witness to the fact that it is not so easy to practise.