Jon Davis and John Rentoul jointly teach a course on the Blair government at King's College London, which began at Queen Mary University of London in 2008. Dr Jon Davis is Director of The Strand Group at The Policy Institute, King's College London, and author of Prime Ministers and Whitehall (2007). He is the lecturer and coordinator of several other teaching modules including 'The History of the Prime Minister since 1945--in partnership with No. 10 Downing St', and 'The Treasury and an Introduction to Economic History--in partnership with HM Treasury'. He worked as an investment banker before turning to an academic career, and also spent a year in the Cabinet Office's Modernising Government Secretariat. John Rentoul is Chief Political Commentator for The Independent, Visiting Professor at King's College London, and the author of an acclaimed biography of Tony Blair. He has worked previously as a political reporter at The Independent, the BBC, and the New Statesman. Together with his co-author Jon Davis, he has been running the Blair Government course since 2008 at Queen Mary and subsequently at KCL, in which many of the leading figures of the Blair administration have participated, including the former prime minister himself.
The Blair Government changed Britain radically and the reverberations echo through all our current debates. Now is the perfect time to review those years and this is the perfect guide. * Michael Gove * The authors have had unprecedented access to the key figures of the Blair-Brown era and made brilliant use of it. Their superbly written book is meticulously researched, rich in insight and wise in judgement. * Sir Michael Barber * Combining first-hand sources and independent judgement, this is the first book on the Blair-Brown years which moves beyond journalism, biography and memoir to being the first draft of history. * Ed Balls, Former Economic Secretary to the Treasury * Obviously well informed ... a useful source on the extreme disfunction of our unwritten constitution. * Natalie Bennett, Green World * Davis and Rentoul make generous use of fascinating first-hand testimony. * Oliver Wiseman, CapX * A vital addition to the literature on the Blair government and New Labour ... a fascinating study, packed with first-hand accounts and primary sources, and one, as the authors posit, that the fair-minded reader will find particularly rewarding. * Robert Ledger, LSE Blogs * ... fascinating retrospective ... It draws upon the rich seam of material from a host of distinguished contributors ... We hear a whole range of voices with a unique and previously unheard contribution to make [...] an account like this is long overdue. * Alan Johnson, The Spectator * A fascinating book. * Andrew Grice, The Independent * Making me feel nostalgic for New Labour is quite an achievement. But the authors of a fascinating new book have somehow managed it ... a perceptive, scholarly study... * Iain Martin, The Times *