Overview

The struggle between the main political parties has been reduced to an unpopularity contest, in which voters hold their noses and sigh as they trudge to the polls. Peter Hitchens explains how and why British politics has sunk to this dreary level - the takeover of the parties and the media by conventional left-wing dogmas which then call themselves 'the centre ground'. The Tory party under David Cameron has become a pale-blue twin of New Labour, offering change without alteration. Hitchens, a former Lobby reporter, examines and mocks the flock mentality of most Westminster journalists, explains how unattributable lunches guide coverage and why so many reporters - once slavish admirers of Labour - now follow the Tory line. This updated edition of Hitchens's The Broken Compass (2009) features a brand new introduction. In an excoriating analysis, Hitchens examines the Tory Party's record in government and opposition, dismissing it as a failure on all fronts but one - the ability to win office without principle. The one thing it certainly isn't is conservative.

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9781472967152

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Reviews

Hitchens ... never seeks to conceal the dramatic nature of his own ideological odyssey ... Today, famously, he is a fully fledged flail of the left, though interestingly this has not led to any great devotion to the Tory cause, least of all as represented by the emollient David Cameron. If there is one thing that can be counted on from the reconstructed Hitchens, it is his eagerness to go tooth and nail for political timidity wherever he detects it and, in his view, ""compassionate Conservatism"" is every bit as vulnerable in this respect as was New Labour back in 1997. He writes with much of the verve and brio of his elder brother and with a greater regard for detail and accuracy. -- Anthony Howard, New Statesman A controversial and fascinating book ... could not put it down, it gave me plenty of food for thought.  I enjoyed it tremendously and highly recommend it. -- BFKbooks This book has some passages of quite brilliant writing and it is at its best when Peter reflects on his own life and his disillusionment with the left-wing ideology of his youth. I long to see him take the next stage in his writer's journey and examine, with his unsparing honesty, the rich human reality of the division he believes is now more important than the split between Left and Right - the deeper gulf between the restless progressive and the Christian pessimist. -- Michael Gove, The Times

Hitchens ... never seeks to conceal the dramatic nature of his own ideological odyssey ... Today, famously, he is a fully fledged flail of the left, though interestingly this has not led to any great devotion to the Tory cause, least of all as represented by the emollient David Cameron. If there is one thing that can be counted on from the reconstructed Hitchens, it is his eagerness to go tooth and nail for political timidity wherever he detects it and, in his view, compassionate Conservatism is every bit as vulnerable in this respect as was New Labour back in 1997. He writes with much of the verve and brio of his elder brother and with a greater regard for detail and accuracy. -- Anthony Howard, New Statesman A controversial and fascinating book ... could not put it down, it gave me plenty of food for thought. I enjoyed it tremendously and highly recommend it. -- BFKbooks This book has some passages of quite brilliant writing and it is at its best when Peter reflects on his own life and his disillusionment with the left-wing ideology of his youth. I long to see him take the next stage in his writer's journey and examine, with his unsparing honesty, the rich human reality of the division he believes is now more important than the split between Left and Right - the deeper gulf between the restless progressive and the Christian pessimist. -- Michael Gove, The Times

Author Information

Peter Hitchens is a British journalist, author and broadcaster. He witnessed most of the final scenes of the Cold War, and was a resident correspondent in the Soviet capital and in Washington, DC. He frequently revisits both Russia and the USA. He currently writes for the Mail on Sunday, where he is a columnist and occasional foreign correspondent, reporting most recently from Iran, North Korea, Burma, The Congo and China. He won the journalism category in the 2010 George Orwell Prize for this correspondence.

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