Margaret Thatcher famously "handbagged" her opponents within her own party. Now the weapon of choice for the Labour party, at least, is the diary. "Third Man", the probably less than gripping self-justifications of Peter Mandelson are about to hit the shelves of Britain's bookshops. He has certainly wasted no time in swinging his boot into the proverbial knackers of his Labour colleagues before any of them have a chance to get their words into print.
This does of course draw public attention back onto the Labour Party as a cauldron of warring factions. Gordon Brown, having vanished into thin air since he left office, is back in full view happily reminding us, thanks to the Prince of Darkness, of just how poorly fitted he was to be Prime Minister. With more diaries and autobiographies coming soon from the likes of Tony Blair, we are about to have a whole feast of Labour rows and self-destruction. Quite what ordinary Labour members think of their former leaders and bigwigs cashing in on the misfortune they themselves inflicted on the Labour Party would be interesting to know. Given that so many Labour members believe history started the moment the Coalition started, the stark reminder of the chaos, warfare and mess that was Labour before the general election probably doesn't go down well.
I've kept a diary since July 1990. The world can rest assured that I have no intention of publishing it!
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