Michael Ashcroft

Updated 2026 edition,including never-before-seen photos and new epilogue. In the summer of 1999,Michael Ashcroft (now Lord Ashcroft) became the subject of concerted attacksaimed at unseating him as Treasurer of the Conservative Party. His attackerswere The Times newspaper and the New Labour Government of Tony Blair. The ultimate target wasWilliam Hague (now Lord Hague), whose leadership would be destabilised and thefinances of his party undermined had his Treasurer been forced from office. This book is the personalaccount of Lord Ashcroft's six-year fight, first to resist a succession ofwholly unjustified attacks, then to clear his damaged name and, finally, toexpose the dirty tricks used against him - some of them even exploiting thefruits of criminal acts. Wapping and New Labourwere to discover that they had taken on a formidable, resourceful anddetermined opponent, one who would go on to reveal unacceptable aspects of bothnational newspaper journalism and British politics. This book sheds new lighton the extraordinary life of an essentially private man. Lord Ashcroft, whoremains as committed as ever to the Conservative Party and its values, alsoreveals how he helped the party through one of the most troubled periods in itshistory. The book, however, endson a positive note - with Lord Ashcroft, at eighty years old, full of energyand vigour, and still embracing his work and his passions. These include hisvaried business interests, his charitable work, his writing, his polling,championing bravery and supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Sir KeirStarmer made the leap from Leader of the Opposition to Prime Minister in onlyfour years, one of just a handful of politicians to have done so since 1945. Yetthe landslide majority that Labour secured under him in July 2024 has beendescribed as 'loveless' and his first months in Downing Street wereovershadowed by rows and controversies, turning what should have been apolitical honeymoon into a period of sustained turbulence. In this fullyrevised and updated edition of his 2021 biography, Michael Ashcroft traces how Starmerwent from schoolboy socialist to radical lawyer and Director of Public Prosecutionsbefore - aged fifty-two - becoming an MP, then Labour leader and ultimately theoccupant of No. 10. Revealingpreviously unknown details which help to explain what makes Starmer tick, this carefulexamination of Britain's first Labour Prime Minister for fourteen years offersvoters the chance to assess his character and his political instincts. Havingturned his party into an election-winning machine, his goal is to transformBritain into one of the most progressive states in the world. Does he have whatit takes to succeed?