Off message: New Labour, new sketches

by Matthew Parris

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1861054793
• ISBN13: 9781861054791
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Robson
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Political journalism at its (lighhearted) best

By turns informative, amusing, sceptical, ironic and satirical, "Off-message" is a distillation of vintage Matthew Parris. Covering about five years (late 1996 to late 2001), it contains over 200 parliamentary sketches originally published in The Times. This period includes the successful election campaign run by Tony Blair and his "New Labour" party, after nearly two decades in opposition to the Conservatives, and the first four years of the new dispensation in which "Things can only get better". Just one word of advice - this book is like a very, very large box of assorted chocolates. Dip into it in moderation, as too much at a time can be cloying. Wisely used, however, it is not just very funny indeed, but also educational and full of interesting ideas. Parris has been there, done it, and got the t-shirt. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament, and in that capacity interacted with political giants like Margaret Thatcher. His experience of practical politics gives his writing far greater depth and insight than that of most journalists. But his writing style, far from resembling the plodding prose of so many politicians, is sparklingly witty. He is not always right, of course, but he has the moral courage to admit that freely and carry on.