Lord (Bernard) Donoughue is a British politician, academic, businessman and author. He was Head of the No 10 Policy Unit under Harold Wilson and Jim Callaghan and was a key source for the writers of
Yes Minister and
Yes Prime Minister. He became a Labour peer in 1985 and served as Minister for Agriculture under Blair. His books include
Prime Minister: Conduct of Policy Under Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, 197479; The Heat of the Kitchen: an autobiography; Downing Street Diary: Volume 1 With Harold Wilson in No. 10 and
Downing Street Diary: Volume 2 With James Callaghan in No. 10. His latest volume of diaries:
Westminster Diary: A Reluctant Minister under Blair was published by I.B.Tauris in 2016.
The latest volume of Bernard Donoughues wry, witty and warm diaries gives a vivid account of the frustrations of a junior minister in the early years of the Blair government, compensated by the authors enjoyment of the friendships and encounters which enrich a highly civilised life.
Lord Butler of Brockwell
Bernard Donoughue is a natural diarist. He mixes the personal with the political and provides a frank portrait of the early Blair years in government and the tensions that even then were mounting up. A host of good stories.
Lord Fowler
What a pleasure to read another volume of Bernard Donoughues diaries, every bit as good as the earlier ones. I could not put it down. It describes his time as a junior minister in the Department of Agriculture the pleasure of working under one secretary of state, and the misery under the next. Not surprisingly as a contributor to the scripts of Yes Minister his daily entries are funny, candid and full of insights on Whitehall and Westminster, as well as engaging on his private life as a bon viveur and passionate follower of horse racing.
Baroness Blackstone
Major diarists can often be unreliable and egotistical chroniclers of their times, observing the world through a warped lens. Bernard Donoughue is different. So far his diaries span four volumes; they brim with acute insights and balanced judgements reporting, with a lightness of touch, on his daily life across five decades as an academic, journalist, author, chief policy adviser to two prime ministers, City figure and minister. That is not all. The width of Donoughues hinterland embraces literature, music and racing. Unlike most leading diarists, he rides no hobby horses nor carries an ounce of malice; there is a detached twinkle to his prose on every page. He is the outsiders insider, stylish and reliable to the final word. His diaries will be essential reading for historians of our age.
Lord Ryder
It is hard to think of anyone who has been closer to the nuts and bolts of power than Bernard Donoughue. As Head of the Policy Unit in Number Ten for both Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, it was he who really put in place the structure that led to independent advice to ministers, now known as SPADS. With his closest friend Joe Haines, he developed an acute understanding of the political power play and their frequently acerbic analysis has seldom been proved wrong. This book is an important addition to the understanding of British politics, unique in that it also tells the story of the adviser who, after a career as academic, businessman and chronicler, became a minister himself. Those obsessed with politics will love this gossipy peak behind the scenes, for the rest of us, it is proof positive that Yes Minister is a documentary.
Baroness Liddell
This tremendously enjoyable Volume Two of Bernard Donoghues Westminster Diaries is distinguished not only by his acute, often quietly acerbic, political insights but also by the relish with which he describes the wider landscape of a full and varied life in London.
Lord (Melvyn) Bragg
A fascinating and honest memoir of an extraordinary political career. Every page offers riveting, behind-the-scenes insight and sharply observed anecdotes from Westminster in the late twentieth century. These volumes should be on the required reading lists of all aspiring politicians.
Baroness (Karren) Brady
When the history of the Blair government is written, Bernards diaries will become an important yardstick for the broadly successful first term. Broadly sympathetic there is the occasional sense of foreboding of what is to come. Like all good diarists, he loves gossip and draws from Labour drinking haunts to Conservative drawing rooms, race horsing, the City and academia. It is a rich well and an intimate one helped by being deeply rooted over 62 years as a devoted party member, the biographer of Herbert Morrison and very close to Wilson and Callaghan. It is fun to read and very interesting on Northern Ireland.
Lord Owen
Bernard Donoughue offers fascinating insights into the often frustrating life of a junior minister beyond ambition coping with both a slippery Permanent Secretary and a Downing Street reluctant to offend vested interests and the media. It is a period piece of high Blairism in the late 1990s before the full souring effects of the TB/GB wars and the Iraq War spiced by the authors frequent forays in the linked worlds of racing and the aristocracy.
Peter Riddell
Published in 2018 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright 2018 Bernard Donoughue
The right of Bernard Donoughue to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
ISBN: 978 1 78453 946 7
eISBN: 978 1 78672 268 3
ePDF: 978 1 78673 268 2
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
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Illustrations
All photographs are taken from the authors personal collection
1. House of Lords by Andrew Festing, author is seated in the centre of the front bench
2. Author and Sarah at a Westminster Hall reception
3. With Sarah at a Masquerade Ball
4. Sarah with Honey in the garden at Foxs Walk
5. Author and Sarah at the wedding of son Paul to Lucy
6. Son Paul with Georgina Berry with Honey
7. Wedding of daughter Rachel to Jason
8. Daughter Kate
9. With son Steve
10. Col de Bousseils in the Pyrenees above Cret, our French house Mas au Rocher
11. With Sarah on the terrace of Mas au Rocher
12. Holidaying in Ireland
13. Working on the Northern Ireland peace settlement: David and Sophie Montgomery with Ulster Protestant leader David Trimble and wife Daphne.
14. Jack Cunningham and author with MAFF team and advisors
15. With Antony Worrall Thompson at the BBC Good Food Show
16. MAFF ministers seated Jack Cunningham, standing L-R Elliot Morley, Jeff Rooker and author
17. MAFF minister Jeff Rooker with bovine friend
