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William Collins
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This eBook first published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2016
Copyright © Philip Webster 2016
Peter Brookes cartoons © Peter Brookes
Photograph in Introduction © Dave Bebber/The Times
Cover photograph © David Bebber for The Times
While every effort has been made to trace the owners of copyright material reproduced herein, the author and publishers would like to apologise for any omissions and will be pleased to incorporate missing acknowledgements in any future editions.
Philip Webster asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780008201333
Ebook Edition © September 2016 ISBN: 9780008201340
Version: 2017-08-23
To my late sister, Kay, for encouraging me to become a journalist, and to Sally, for encouraging me to write this book.
Contents
A Nervous Breakdown as Britain Votes ‘Out’
John and Edwina: The Liverpool Novel
1970s: Scary Days in the Commons Gallery
The Iron Lady: Early Lobby Years
How I Upset the Commons by Doing My Job
The Foreign Secretary Who Never Was
Dangerous Travelling with Thatcher
Some Stories Are Just Too Good …
A Horse, A Horse – My Paper for a Horse
Madrid – and Dominic Lawson’s Star Turn
Thatcher’s Fall, Major’s Arrival – and How the Rugby Team Might Have Saved Her
Kinnock and the White House Stitch-Up
As Thatcher Rules, Labour Battles for Its Soul
Was She Crying? Oh Yes, She Was: Glenys on the West Bank
Held at Gunpoint in the African Bush
Jenkins, Owen, Steel: Third Party Hell
A Day in the Life of a Political Editor
My Part in Keeping Britain Out of the Euro
Taking a Punt on the 2001 Election