A Very British Coup
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Review
"'Rattles along with speed and great credibility' The Times 'A delicious fantasy... crisply written and the story belts along' Observer 'A world of power struggle in Downing Street, Fleet Street, Whitehall and Washington' New Statesman 'A spiffing read... calculated to grip blue-rinsed Conservative ladies and make Socialist eyes pop' People"
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'A delicious fantasy... crisply written and the story belts along' - Observer
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Back in the 60s, 70s, and early 80s there was more genuine difference between the political parties. Labour had a sizeable "hard left" membership that, while never gaining control of the party, could help shape policy. Even those from the left that took leadership roles in the party (Harold Wilson for example) seem to take a couple of step to the right once they had the position.
I suspect that part of the reason that in real life the left was broken was because of the press. Comments (in the popular media) that suggested that anyone with half a brain would emigrate if the Labour Party won didn't help.
This book imagines what might happen if a populist left wing MP (Harry Perkins) had become leader of the party, and then leader of the country. It also dreams that he doesn't make a "Wilsonian charge to the centre ground of British politics" after his election.
In response to his election as Prime Minister (the book starts as Perkins makes his way to London after the election), the Secret Service, the Press and the moderate elements of his own party (all of whom are accustomed to watching the left fizzle about like loons for a while, but never getting elected), decide to see if they can bring him down.
Some people have called this a fictional imagining of what might have happened to Labour politicians of yore. Others seem to see parallels to today's Labour Party. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't got those parallels. I just call it a fun read. It rattles along quickly, is easy to get into, and is generally a fun read. Don't expect anything too deep and meaningful. If you go along for the ride, you'll enjoy it.
I suspect that part of the reason that in real life the left was broken was because of the press. Comments (in the popular media) that suggested that anyone with half a brain would emigrate if the Labour Party won didn't help.
This book imagines what might happen if a populist left wing MP (Harry Perkins) had become leader of the party, and then leader of the country. It also dreams that he doesn't make a "Wilsonian charge to the centre ground of British politics" after his election.
In response to his election as Prime Minister (the book starts as Perkins makes his way to London after the election), the Secret Service, the Press and the moderate elements of his own party (all of whom are accustomed to watching the left fizzle about like loons for a while, but never getting elected), decide to see if they can bring him down.
Some people have called this a fictional imagining of what might have happened to Labour politicians of yore. Others seem to see parallels to today's Labour Party. Maybe it has, maybe it hasn't got those parallels. I just call it a fun read. It rattles along quickly, is easy to get into, and is generally a fun read. Don't expect anything too deep and meaningful. If you go along for the ride, you'll enjoy it.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"Although published in 1982 at a time when Labour were still struggling to combat the fledgling SDP let alone defeat Margaret Thatcher's Tory Party, A Very British Coup remains one of the classic British political thrillers of the late 20th Century. One does not have to share Mullin's leftist political perspective to agree with the central tenet of his argument that it is fundamentally undemocratic for a government to be thrown off course by oppositionist forces in society, be they in the media, secret services or military. The novel visualises the aftermath of a surprise Labour election landslide - a remote prospect in 1982 - led by socialist former Sheffield steelworker Harry Perkins (not Harry Mullins as the Amazon synopsis bizarrely states at the moment). Slowly but surely the reader is able to observe the government's ultimately fatal undermining by malevolent reactionary forces beyond its control. 'A Very British Coup' indeed. Mullin - now better known as the Labour MP who helped lead the campaign to free the Birmingham Six - seems to be implying at times that this story has already happened - that working class hero Perkins is in fact Harold Wilson who gave way unexpectedly to a more conservative successor (Jim Callaghan) in 1976. Although never as left wing as Perkins is (Perkins' Government favours withdrawing from NATO and full nuclear disarmament), Wilson was, of course, harassed by elements in MI5 during his time of office and the two even have similar names. Even ignoring this, the book is still a powerful warning against complacency on the Left and is at times surprisingly prescient: Perkins' party defeats a coalition government ran by the Tories and SDP, for example, a set up not a million miles away from the situation in 2010. Political junkies should relish this regardless of their own ideologies once they have adapted themselves to the novel's pre-Falklands War perspective."
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Having read Chris Mullin's autobiographical books on his time in parliament (and very much enjoyed them)I was looking forward to reading his fictional account of the downfall of a left wing Prime Minister. However, ultimately, I was disappointed. There are some good bits in it but the outcome is so predictable that there is really no suspense, just a depressing sense of inevitability. The main characters seem to be total innocents and who have little idea of what is likely to happen to them or fightback when it does. And this is unrealistic since the one thing that the left does very well is to anticipate conspiracies.
Perhaps the most telling point is that when I saw the invitation to review this book, I had to think hard what it was all about, and initially I was confusing it with Michael Dobbs' far better and tighter political novels.
Perhaps the most telling point is that when I saw the invitation to review this book, I had to think hard what it was all about, and initially I was confusing it with Michael Dobbs' far better and tighter political novels.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One where TV better than ook
Poorly written, unbelievable story line, poor characterisations in the book, whereas the TV version I saw on TV was finely scripted, directed and very well filmed and acted. Read more
Published 4 months ago by zjohn
Interesting, if mechanically written
A Very British Coup is an intriguing bit of "what if" theorising, close to counter-factual history in some respects. If a Michael Foot or Tony Benn had gained power, what then? Read more
Published 6 months ago by Eric Ambleside
No depth to the characters
After reading a few reviews I bought this book for a beach holiday. However, approx 30 pages in I gave up as the main characters lacked any depth and were exaggerated stereotypes. Read more
Published 9 months ago by ianplag
A very British story
This is what is now an interesting period piece and yet still has relevance for our current times.
Although the setting is very much the 1980s if one can get past this,... Read more
Although the setting is very much the 1980s if one can get past this,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Tony
A Very Realistic British Coup
A good read. Chris Mullin is a very good writer. Also enjoyed his diaries when he became a minister in real life.
Published 13 months ago by Mr. M. Catchesides
Frighteningly plausible
A first rate yarn, or a frighteningly believable prophecy of what would happen if we ever got a truly reforming government in this country?? Read more
Published 15 months ago by Geoff
Fairly entertaining political novel from a Bennite perspective
As a political novel this is a reasonably entertaining story of intrigue and plots in which the security services, centre/right elements in the trade union movement, and the... Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2007 by Marshall Lord
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