Abstract
From the touchlines of serious political life, journalist Mark Seddon, who edited the weekly Tribune from 1993 until 2004, has produced a brilliantly vivid picture of the Labour Party at its intriguing, beastly, unbrotherly worst. Seddon's book provides a quality glimpse into the self-destructive forces during the Blair/Brown years which, in the end, proved so disastrous to the Left. His description benefits from a personal involvement as a member of Labour's National Executive for six years while also editing Tribune, a magazine renowned since 1937 for its radical views. It's a combination of experience that enables Seddon to offer an even more compelling and revealing ringside account than any of the earlier books on those turbulent years – including Tony Blair's own memoirs as well as the revelations of Peter Mandelson and even Alastair Campbell's fascinating and important diaries.
Seddon was and remains an outsider in the true sense of that badge; always a committed socialist, an immensely talented journalist and devoted editor of Tribune, he occupied the chair twice previously filled by his hero, Michael Foot (as well as, early in the magazine's life, by Aneurin Bevan). Editing that champion of Labour's Left is a significant role both in political and journalistic terms, yet throughout everything Mark Seddon remained ever the inquiring, critical journalist of integrity rather than the budding politician of opportunism.
That's why he never became a significant figure on Labour's back benches in the tradition of his mentor, Foot. To do so would have meant Seddon biting the bullet of false humility in the face of devious plotting by members of the Blair clan, including TB himself, who steadfastly engineered Seddon's failure to secure the parliamentary seat he rightly deserved. So Mark remains, as this well-written book demonstrates, an often frustrated and – not surprisingly – sometimes bitter radical journalist but also an extremely shrewd political observer and friendly critic of the Labour Party.
After more than a decade of editing Tribune and numerous unsuccessful and frustrating attempts to become an MP – including the disgraceful manipulation against his bids for vacancies at Stoke-on-Trent and the South Wales constituency of Ogmore – Seddon decided to accept an offer from the newly established Arabic TV network Al Jazeera, for which he set up its New York English language bureau to become the channel's first United Nations correspondent.
His UN coverage did not hinder several years of reporting widely across the United States and later, after being transferred to Al Jazeera's London office, he used that as a base from which to roam the globe. His accounts of reporting from the Middle East, Europe and Asia offer clear evidence of a vivid and humorous style that produced some sparkling character studies.
Among outstanding examples are his chapters on the horrors of North Korea – his reports on absurdity and tyrannical ambience amid Kim Il Sung's entourage are a sheer joy to read.
Despite reporting widely on world and European affairs from London, Seddon remained restless and the inevitable outcome after several highly successful years with Al Jazeera was a move into freelance journalism. He now writes for a number of national newspapers, any one of which would be well advised to hire him as a permanent fixture.
His pen portraits in this book of the Labour Party leadership under Tony Blair are as good as you can get. My favourite vignette is Mark's description of his first meeting as a member of Labour's National Executive Committee at Blackpool's Imperial Hotel in September 1998, not much more than a year into Blair's Premiership. Seddon writes: “It was a huge room [in the hotel] with the sun pouring in through large sash windows. Newly elected members were sat deliberately in front of the windows so that when Tony Blair and his entourage came in we all had to screw up our eyes to see him. This is, of course, how it happens in The Godfather.” It was not an auspicious beginning to his relationship with the Prime Minister and the relationship did not improve despite the grudgingly-friendly arm around the shoulders from Blair following one notably combative session of the NEC.
The book's title, Standing for Something, suggests Seddon has very firm views on how a Labour Government should practise its ideology and his final three chapters form a critical threnody for the miserable failings of New Labour and Blairism. It is a powerful and sustained critique which echoes the values of Michael Foot, about whom Seddon's chapter “Farewell to Footie” is a gem. My only complaint about this fine book is that, as with all good non-fiction books, it should have carried an index. Black mark, Seddon!