Reproaches from the Past 
Peter Clarke
- The Prudence of Mr Gordon Brown by William Keegan
It’s an odd job with an odd title. When the G7 meet there is only one chancellor of the exchequer in the room – other countries make do somehow with a finance minister or a secretary of the treasury – so a nod towards history is plainly needed by way of explanation. It seems that the present definition of the office was established through a process long characterised by ambiguity as well as ambition, with a premium on stealth as well as wealth.
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Peter Clarke’s book The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire will be published to coincide with the 60th anniversary of Indian independence in August.
Other articles by this contributor:
The Antagoniser’s Agoniser · Keith Joseph
On the Blower · the Journals of Woodrow Wyatt
The Rise and Fall of Thatcherism · eight years after
Blair Must Go · Peter Clarke explains why he once supported Tony Blair and now believes he should go
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