Preface ix
Slow Ascent into Hell
1. Easter Monday, 2009 3
2. Warning Signs 5
3. The Fast Stream 10
4. Customs as I Am 16
5. The Treasury Type 23
6. A Trucking Mess 29
7. VAT Man Again. And Again 36
8. Sport of Queens 43
9. My Demon Booze 49
10. Meeting the Mother 56
11. The Art of the Budget 62
12. Rising to the Top 70
Going to the Dark Side
13. What Makes the Two Eds Tick? 79
14. Breaking Bad News 86
15. The Art of Budget Briefing 95
16. Interviews: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 105
17. Dirty Hands 114
18. Security 120
19. The Washingtonian 127
20. Lead in the Pencil 135
21. Gordon and the Eds 142
22. The Politics of Poverty 150
23. Honours 159
24. 'The Evil That Men Do' 165
Mad Dog on the Loose
25. Blair and Brown: The Cola Wars 173
26. Taking On the Tories 183
27. Leaks and Leakers 189
28. The Art of Overseas Trips 197
29. The Editors 206
30. Political Footballs 214
31. Conference 223
32. The Family Guy 232
33. Going to the Mattresses 241
34. Asian Persuasion 250
35. Becoming the Leader 259
36. What We Lost the Day We Won 267
The Rollercoaster
37. The Hacks 279
38. Riding High 286
39. Presidents and First Ladies 294
40. Maggie and Me 302
41. Too Many Mistakes 307
42. New People 321
43. Thursday Night Lies 330
44. For the Glory of Gordon 337
45. The Forces of Hell 347
46. The David Miliband Conundrum 356
47. The Art of the Reshuffle 364
48. 'Rough Seas Make Good Sailors' 374
Walk Through the Storm
49. The Darker Arts 385
50. Anatomy of a Resignation 395
51. Back to the Beginning 404
52. Politics, Gordon and Me 414
Acknowledgements 423
Index
