This updated edition of Bernard Ingham’s 1991 memoirs contains two additional chapters, bringing the reader up to speed on the activities of Margaret Thatcher’s Chief Press Secretary since leaving the civil service (mainly after dinner speeches and fast food company directorships) and on his feelings regarding the Blair governments (it is spinning out of control).
The memoirs follow Ingham’s career path from local newspaper to The Guardian and on to the Government Information Service; the poacher turned gamekeeper. In his early years Ingham wrote for the Hebdon Bridge Times, and after a short period of time became something of a one man Newspaper: writing, subbing, and editing most of the words that were published each week.
Running throughout the memoirs is a strong sense of Ingham’s pride in his Hebdon Bridge roots. He appears to relish the gruff, straight talking, call-a-spade-a-spade, stereotype of a Yorkshire man. He was, of course, from a staunch Labour background, although he is at pains to point out that none of his family in Hebdon Bridge would label themselves anything as fancy as socialists. His guiding philosophy appears to be that hard work should be rewarded, reflecting his Non-Conformist upbringing.
One question that Ingham’s memoirs seeks to answer is how a man from this traditional Labour background – a former Labour local government candidate, no less – became the Chief Press Secretary to Margaret Thatcher? The answer is rooted in Ingham’s strong belief in the notions of service and duty. As a civil servant, for instance, he was as prepared to work with Tony Benn as he was with Mrs Thatcher, as this was what his profession demanded.
His interpretation of Thatcherism further demonstrates his belief in the virtues of service and hard work. Ingham portrays a doctrine that sought to reward industrious and law-abiding citizens and deliver them from the tyranny of the Trade Unions. The author appears to be constantly reconciling his Trade Union past with his Thatcherite destiny; he makes a point of quoting newspaper articles he wrote for the Leeds Weekly Citizen, as early as 1966 in which his disenchantment with the Trade Union movement is evident. His unhappiness stems from the belief that the movement did not seek to serve the good of the country, but only the desires of its members. Thatcherism’s goal was to ‘restore the rule of law’, in other words to refuse to compromise the government to the will of the Unions. Ingham portrays this as a noble aim, bestowing freedom upon the good citizens of Great Britain.
Yet in the first of the two new chapters in this edition, Ingham paints a picture of a Britain gone to seed, ravaged by materialism, and living in fear of crime; the ‘the utter squalor of people’s voyeuristic and hedonistic lives’. One presumes the author believes this state of affairs is a result of the misgovernment of Britain over the fourteen years since the Tories’ great act of matricide. Surely, however, it was under his boss’ watch when these seeds began to sprout. The Thatcher years witnessed traditional communities full of hard-working people, not dissimilar from his own beloved Hebdon Bridge, face massive redundancies, whilst the Gordon Gecko, tendency flourished across Tory heartlands.
The segment dealing with spin and New Labour’s alleged bastardisation of the Government Information and Communication Service is perhaps more rewarding, with Ingham detailing precisely how he believes Campbell, Mandelson, et al have fundamentally altered the departmentwhich he was clearly proud to head. He complains of New Labour politicising the GCIS, changing its role from promoting the government’s work to eulogising the party. The publication of The Phillis Report, which has called for the GICS to be disbanded and the replacement of the lobby system with televised briefings, demonstrates that what Ingham has to say on the relationship between journalists and politicians remains particularly relevant.