The Blunkett Tapes: My Life in the Bear Pit (Hardcover)

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Product Description
Born into a working-class family in Sheffield, David Blunkett ascended to one of the highest political positions in the country. But his remarkable rise was anything but smooth. The Blunkett Tapes is an intimate diary of his past nine years at the centre of power, unprecedented in its candour and rueful humanity. His story is all the more remarkable for the gritty tenacity that he has demonstrated throughout his life, dealing daily with the challenges of working without sight. With vivid immediacy and characteristic bluntness, David Blunkett chronicles the inside story of New Labour as it has occupied the corridors of power, and as he progressed from Education and Employment Secretary to Home Secretary, eventually finishing his front-bench career as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Never before has David Blunkett written about his relationships with key Cabinet colleagues in the hurly-burly of day-to-day politics, the challenge of developing policy and bringing about lasting change. Woven into the diary entries are Blunkett's personal reflections, as unflinchingly frank as they are incisive. Rarely does a politician so willingly admit where he went wrong, what he should have done better, and the unforeseen twists which affected his professional and private life. From the blistering confidence of New Labour's early days as they burst jubilantly on to the scene in 1997, through the troubled years that led to his two resignations, The Blunkett Tapes is the compulsively readable journey of one of the most fascinating politicians of our time.

About the Author
David Blunkett was elected as the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside in 1987. However, his outstanding political career began in local government as a member of Sheffield City Council, where he worked for eighteen years, seven of those as leader of the council. In Parliament David led Labour's assault on the poll tax as Opposition Local Government Spokesman. Promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in 1992, he took on, in turn, responsibility for Health, Education, and then Education and Employment. Following the 1997 Labour election victory, David became Secretary of State for Education and Employment. He oversaw substantial improvements in the basic standards of literacy and numeracy, considerable class size reductions, and the introduction of tuition fees, as well as the introduction of the New Deal for the unemployed and the reduction of the claimant count for unemployment, below a million for the first time in twenty-five years. From June 2001 to December 2004 David was Home Secretary, where he concentrated on fighting terrorism, tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, and managing immigration and asylum. He returned to the Cabinet in May 2005, where as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions he set a clear vision for reform of the welfare state and established a nationwide debate to find a long-term solution to pensions challenges.

6 Reviews 5 star:    (0) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:  (5)           Average Customer Review 1.5 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   9 of 12 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Boring , tedious, 24 Dec 2006 By  Mr. W. P. Simpson "Poppy's dad" (Sussex UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    God - how this book goes on through endless tedious pages of self -justification! There should be a silver star for anybody who believes what is ghost-written and a gold star for anyone who finishes this boring tome. Complete waste of time - if someone gave you this as a Christmas present you will certainly know that you have upset them! It just shows that lack of ( literary) ability is no bar to the higher branches of government. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   17 of 24 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars A disgrace...with an advance..., 19 Nov 2006 By  Jason Parkes "We're all Frankies'" (Worcester, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    & BBC licence payers' money & some tabloid rights too... Disgraced, twice-sacked MP David Blunkett was somehow given hundreds of thousands of pounds to write this unriveting autobiography, amusingly in the pay of the Murdoch press, he serialised this book in the Daily Mail - odd behaviour for someone who wanted privacy a few years ago and griped about the media. & why should those who pay the BBC's licence fee pay for an extended advert (serialisation) on Radio 4 - it's not like any copies were sold as a result! The MP formerly known as the Socialist Front of South Yorkshire turned out in power to be as much a class traitor as colleague like John Prescott and John Reid - not that this book will tell you that. Blunkett rewrites history from his skewed perspective, perhaps as a response to the amusing Channel Four drama that starred Bernard Hill and was probably immensely accurate? This book charts the rise, fall, reinstatement, and fall of David Blunkett - a hardcore socialist from the Thatcher era who was perverted by the New Labour project and having actual power. A man who still hasn't stated why he ordered tanks into UK airports a few years ago. A man who apparently thought protesting prisoners should be taken out with machine guns. A man who didn't see any problem with having sexual relations with a rich, right-wing American publisher. A man who got sacked twice for dubious behaviour, despite lecturing others on morality...how odd that so many New Labour souls were leftist in their youth (Patricia Hewitt, Reid, Blunkett, Straw, Prescott) and are such sell outs when in middle age and power. They make the Tories look good. This book is a disgrace, almost as distasteful as the Murdoch-published tome by OJ Simpson - why do disgraced and useless individuals get a publishing deal and profit from their bad behaviour? `The Blunkett Tapes', if it wasn't so boringly ghost-edited, does have one over-riding quality: it's a brilliant work of fiction. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   11 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars In the land of the short-sighted the blind politician is king..., 24 Dec 2006 By  Trollope "Trollope" (London) - See all my reviews Once upon a time, if a working class lad REALLY wanted to get on in life, he grafted his way into a good grammar school, became an apprentice or maybe even hustled his way into a career in the City or Fleet Street (via the mail room of course). Oh how times of changed... Today, an arriviste working class lad has another option: become a second rate politican. In fact, all those 'yoots' out there dreaming of getting paid 'large' should forget about football, hip-hop or tabloid exposure as the route one to fame and fortune and follow Blunkett's guide to making it. Women, power, big guns, dangerous dogs (well, a Labrador-cross actually) - Blunkett's done it all and thus should have nuff respec' on road... He's well and truly a 'soldier,' you get me? In all seriousness, unless you count trousering hundreds of thousands of pounds for producing reams of sleep inducing tosh (aside from his other 'achievements') Blunkett and his literary effort are no example to set to the legion of British youths who lack jobs, prospects and future. The man should be ashamed of himself, having sold out his class credentials and turned his back on millions of people that are in desperate need for genuine working class heroes. My advice to any potential reader/buyer: fast-forward past The Blunkett Tapes, pause for thought, then erase this man from your memory... Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 6 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 1.0 out of 5 stars A tedious waste of space Blunkett's comments on the million-strong anti-war march of 2003 take the biscuit. He commends Blair for his resoluteness in the face of what Blunkett calls the marchers'... Read more Published 14 months ago by William Podmore 4.0 out of 5 stars Quite entertaining As happens so often I don't get films that are oscar winners, but enjoy critically panned ones. The same is true often for books. Read more Published on 4 Jun 2007 by Mr. C. Goble 1.0 out of 5 stars rebarbative nonsense A diary is meant to be something of an exploration into a well-known persons private thoughts, aspirations and fears. Read more Published on 11 Feb 2007 by Michael Soutar Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 6 customer reviews...

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