
The Point of Departure
Description
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For the two years prior to his resignation, Robin Cook kept a diary, a personal record of Labour's second term, that forms the core of this narrative. The Point of Departure is Robin Cook's unvarnished account of this dramatic period in British political history. Though surprised by his abrupt dismissal in 2001 as Foreign Secretary, he became determined to effect the changes in Parliamentary democracy that he believed were essential if Parliament was to move into the twenty-first century. As Tony Blair told Cook on offering him leadership of the House of Commons, "This is the job for you."
Drawing on firsthand experiences in the Commons and the Cabinet, of encounters in conferences and corridors and late-night conversations, Cook details his gathering disillusionment with Tony Blair's change of direction, which he believes to be profoundly mistaken, and, above all, the change in foreign policy that led the United Kingdom away from its destiny in Europe and into participation in President Bush's war in Iraq.
This is the inside story of a government in power -- and of the tensions between those who govern. But above all it is the story of a politician who genuinely wanted to bring democracy closer to the people, but who saw a government increasingly detached from the values of himself and his party, and who developed a growing conviction that the government position on Iraq was morally, diplomatically, and politically wrong.
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Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Prologue
- Chapter 1: 'This is the job for you.' 8 June-24 July 2001
- Why Parliament must Modernise
- Democracy and the House of Lords
- Chapter 2: The Siege of Derry 9 August 2001-22 January 2002
- The US Neo-Con Battle Plan
- Parliament and Press: A Vicious Cycle
- Lords Reform: From Heredity to Patronage?
- Chapter 3: A Bridge Too Far 23 January-14 May 2002
- Britain and Washington
- The West's Complicity with Saddam
- Britain and Europe
- Parliament and Parties
- Chapter 4: Putting Parliament First 15 May-13 August 2002
- The Euro: Collateral Damage of Iraq
- Parliament's Right to Vote on War
- Chapter 5: We Did Good Work That Night 15 August-29 October 2002
- The UN: The First Casualty of War
- The September Dossier: Intelligence or Propaganda?
- Modernisation of Parliament: The Summing Up
- Chapter 6: Moving Apart 30 October 2002-4 February 2003
- Containment: A Strategy that Worked
- Misreading the Public Mood
- Lords Reform: Lost Among the Options
- Chapter 7: The Final Break 5 February-17 March 2003
- Saddam and al-Qa'ida: The Missing Link
- Humanitarian Intervention and the UN
- The Second Term: A Missed Opportunity
- How Real a Threat?
- Chapter 8: After the Battle Was Over
- Chapter 9: Where Do We Go From Here?
- Epilogue
- Appendix: Resignation Speech, 17 March 2003
- Acknowledgements
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