The Best of Enemies: Diaries 1980-1997

The Best of Enemies is the political diaries of one of the most significant politicians of the late twentieth century. Covering the Thatcher/Major period - during which time Norman Fowler held prominent positions in the Cabinet and as party chairman - Fowler's diaries observe both Prime Ministers, and their Cabinet colleagues, at close quarters. Fowler brings his training as a journalist to bear on these diaries, which are full of insights and anecdotes and resonate powerfully with the situation the Conservative Party faces today, with industrial strife, waning authority and a Labour Party looking like a government in waiting. The entries raise other issues that are still unresolved. They range from the effect that the private sexual conduct of a minister should have on a career to whether an entirely 'hands-off' approach to industrial strategy is in the national interest. Norman Fowler's diaries provide a ringside seat to the struggles of their time. These are not the diaries of an ex-minister seeking to justify their own record; rather, they are the story of how two Prime Ministers rose and fell and caused their party to split apart, told by someone who was there at the time.