The gripping inside story of the complex and ambitious Chancellor of the Exchequer's time in power.
Gordon Brown's arrival at the Treasury in May 1997 was greeted with great excitement - not to mention anticipation. Officials of every rank looked on expectantly to see what miracles the chancellor would work. And so, as Master of the New Era, Brown created relationships across every Whitehall department and extended his influence to every aspect of government. He brought into effect the most important budgetary changes of the past decade: the commitment to Private Finance Initiative, which will alter infrastructure from the London Underground to the NHS and state schools; the management of the Inland Revenue; the increase in taxes; and the demise of Britain's pension funds.
Seven years after his arrival at the most powerful department in Whitehall, Brown is now openly-tipped to be the next leader of the Labour Party. But in spite of this, his personal agenda awaits real investigation. In this gripping biography, Tom Bower does just this, documenting the rise to power of a driven and complex politician, exposing both widely-suspected and little-known conflicts within government and exploring how the repercussions of Brown's ambitions will affect the country for decades to come.
