First Among Equals Read online

  Benn claimed that Kinnock’s naïveté and gauche approach as leader had been the single reason that the Labour party had not been returned to power. There were many Socialists who agreed with this judgment, but they also felt they would have fared considerably worse under Benn.

  What his announcement did, however, was to make respectable the claim of any other candidates who wished their names to be put forward. Roy Hattersley and John Smith joined Benn and Kinnock for the first ballot. Many Members of Parliament, trade union leaders, and constituency activists pressed Raymond to stand for the leadership.

  “If you don’t stand now,” Joyce told him, “you’ll have no chance in the future.”

  “It’s the future I’m thinking about,” replied Raymond.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “I want to stand for deputy leader against Michael Meacher and John Cunningham, and that will secure me a power base in the party which would afford me a better chance next time.”

  Raymond waited another week before he launched his candidacy. On the following Monday, at a packed press conference, he announced he would be standing for deputy leader.

  With four candidates in the field for the leadership no clear favorite emerged although most prophets accepted Benn would lead after the first ballot. Hattersley came to an agreement with Smith that whichever one of them captured the most votes in the first round the other would drop out and support the leader of the right in the final ballot.

  When the vote had been counted Benn, as predicted, topped the first ballot, with Kinnock in third place. To everyone’s surprise when Kinnock dropped out he advised his supporters not to back Benn as he felt it could only spell a further prolonged period of Opposition for the Labour party.

  A few hours later the party chairman announced that Tony Benn had been soundly beaten. The Labour party had a new moderate leader.

  The vote then took place for the deputy leadership and although the new leader made clear his preference for Raymond everyone still expected it to be close. Joyce spent the last hour running from delegate to delegate while Raymond tried to appear calm. At eleven o’clock that Sunday night the chairman of the Labour party’s National Executive announced that by a mere three percent Raymond Gould was the newly elected deputy leader of the Labour party.

  The new leader immediately appointed Raymond Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

  Among the many letters and telegrams Raymond received was one from Kate, which read: Congratulations. But have you read standing order no. 5(4) of the party constitution? Raymond replied: Hadn’t. Have now. Let’s hope it’s an omen.

  In their first twelve months the new Labour team looked fresh and innovative as Mrs. Thatcher began to look tired and out of touch. She was not helped in her cause by the election of Gary Hart to the White House in November 1988. President Hart’s avowed intention to lower unemployment and spend more of the nation’s wealth to help “genuine Democrats” left Britain with a handful of new problems. The pound strengthened against the dollar overnight, and large export orders sat gathering dust in dockside warehouses.

  But what threw her economic forecasts into total disarray was the decision of the recently elected Governments of Brazil and Argentina to refuse to repay any of the loans negotiated by their former military rulers leaving the Bank of England with what could only be described as an overdraft.

  During the long cold winter of 1988 the Conservatives lost several votes on the floor of the House and many more upstairs in committee. The Prime Minister seemed somewhat relieved to find herself spending Christmas. at Chequers

  The relief did not last long as two elderly Conservative members died before the House convened in January. The press dubbed the Government the “lame drake” administration.

  Both of the pending by-elections were held in May: the Conservatives fared far better than might have been expected, holding on to one and just losing the other. For a third time Mrs. Thatcher plumped for a June election.

  After a decade of the lady from Grantham Raymond sensed the mood was for change. The monthly unemployment, inflation, and import/export figures announced at regular intervals during the campaign all augured badly for the Conservatives.

  The Prime Minister’s reiterated plea that a Government shouldn’t be judged on one month’s figures now sounded unconvincing, and by the final week the only point of contention was whether the Labour party would end up with a decent working majority.

  Raymond woke up on the Friday morning after the election to be told by Joyce that the computer predictions indicated an overall majority of four seats. Together they toured the constituency that morning before joining Raymond’s parents for a late lunch. When they left the little butcher’s shop that afternoon there was a crowd of well-wishers awaiting them on the pavement who cheered them all the way to their car. Raymond and Joyce traveled down to London and were back in Cowley Street in time to watch the first Labour Prime Minister since 1979 emerge from Buckingham Palace with the television cameras following him all the way back until he took up residence at 10 Downing Street.

  This time Raymond did not have long to wait for a telephone call because the first appointment the new Prime Minister confirmed was his Chancellor. Raymond and Joyce traveled to No. 11 later that afternoon, instructing estate agents to lease their Cowley Street house on a six-month let that might or might not be renewable. Joyce spent hours checking over her new home and replacing some of the objects she had inherited from Diana Brittan while Raymond called his team over from Transport House to prepare the Labour party’s first budget, and replace even more of what Leon Brittan had left behind.

  After Raymond’s advisers returned to Transport House that night he started to go over the hundreds of letters and telegrams of congratulations that had been flooding in throughout the day. One from America made him particularly happy, and he returned his own best wishes to Mrs. Kate Wilberhoff.

  Andrew had defeated Frank Boyle for a third time and the left-winger announced that he would not be standing again.

  Andrew had also spent a weekend thanking all his helpers. When he returned to the Commons on the Monday morning he found a note awaiting him on the Members’ Letterboard.

  Over lunch in the Members’ Dining Room David Owen informed him privately that he would not be seeking reelection as leader of the SDP: seven years had been quite enough. Although the party had slightly improved their position in the House he accepted that they now faced a five-year Parliament, and he wanted Andrew to take over.

  As soon as Owen had issued an official press statement Geoffrey Parkhouse of the Glasgow Herald was the first to phone and ask Andrew, “When will you be announcing your bid for the SDP leadership?”

  Leaving the Home Office came as a great blow to Charles. His period of time there had been so short that he felt he had achieved very little. The civil servants had procrastinated over all major decisions as they waited for another general election and a clear mandate. He informed Amanda over breakfast on the Monday after the election that he would be returning to Seymour’s Bank and that his salary would once again be sufficient for her allowance to remain constant—so long as she kept to her part of the bargain. Amanda nodded and left the breakfast table without comment just as Harry came in.

  It was an important morning for Harry as he was to be taken to his first day of prep school at Hill House to begin the academic course mapped out for him by his father. Charles tried to convince him that it would be the start of a wonderful future, but Harry looked apprehensive. Once he had deposited a tearful eight-year-old with his first headmaster Charles continued on to the City, cheerful at the prospect of returning to the world of banking.

  When he arrived at Seymour’s, he was met by Clive Reynolds’s secretary who immediately took him through to the boardroom and asked him if he would like a coffee.

  “Thank you,” said Charles, taking off his gloves, placing his umbrella in the stand, and settling himself in the chairman’s seat a