Book Description
From the Publisher
standards in public life." Tony Blair, May 1997
"I think that most people who have dealt with me think
that I am a pretty straight sort of guy – and I am." Tony Blair, November 1997, On the Record
"Their politics without conscience brought fascination
to begin with, then admiration; next it will bring
disillusion; finally it will being contempt." William Hague, October 1997
From the Author
The last week of April 2006 saw the political equivalent of a ‘Perfect Storm’. Patricia Hewitt was booed by nurses, Charles Clarke was in trouble over foreign prisoners who had not been deported, John Prescott had been exposed for
bonking his cocktail sausage eating diary secretary and in the most bizarre twist of all,cannabis was found in the home of Defence Secretary, Dr John Reid. This followed a
month of dire publicity for New Labour over cash for Peerages. Could it get worse for Tony Blair? Yes. Guido Fawkes and I announced the publication of this book.
My fellow blogger Guido Fawkes emailed me on the evening of 30th April to suggest writing this book. The idea immediately appealed but we needed to catch
the wave of the rising tide of scandals that were threatening to engulf Tony Blair. So we decided to ask our friends in the world of political blogdom to help us write the book. The response was terrific and the book was printed and in the bookshops within three weeks of Guido first coming up with the idea. Phew! It’s the first time
a book has been written entirely by bloggers.
I’d like to thank Beau Bo D’or (bbdo.co.uk/blog) for designing the front cover and Hoby for the cartoons.
There is a website to accompany the book at newlaboursleaze.It couldn’t
be anything else with around 70 contributors. We hope you enjoy it.
From Guido Fawkes:
As another wave of New Labour sleaze washed up over the rotting body politic
like yesterday’s sewage, Tony Blair again made another attempt to make out that it was not as bad as the bad old Tory days. But it is worse I thought. At least the Tories didn’t get up to hanky-panky on government premises, in government time at our expense with the taxpayer getting screwed as well as the semi-naked civil servant. Someone should really document it all so that the next time Tony claimed he was a "straight kinda guy" they would have the evidence to prove him wrong. Intoxicated with that idea I emailed Iain Dale, knowing he had been keeping a close eye on developments and knows a thing or two about books. The next morning he replied with a publishing timetable. It was his idea to garner the British political blogosphere into co-authoring it quickly to catch the zeitgeist. This book introduces a wealth of diverse new writers to the book reading public, as for most of our blogging co-authors this is the first time they have been in print on paper as opposed to pixels on screen. We have calculated that New Labour over nine years has produced a scandal a
month on average, with little time off for good behaviour, nevertheless within these pages we document everything; shady bungs from businessmen, lying lobbyists, ministers on the make, expenses fiddled and Loans for Lordships made. So next time Tony Blair stands up to say New Labour is "whiter than white", you can throw this little red book at him.
About the Author
He is the author/editor of more than a dozen books including Margaret Thatcher: A Tribute, the Bill Clinton Joke Book, the Tony Blair Joke Book and the Wit & Wisdom of Tony Banks. His latest venture is the Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze.
Iain is the owner of the online political bookstore Politicos.co.uk. He is a West Ham United season ticket holder and a Eurovision Song Contest aficionado. More on Iain at iaindale.com
