Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter [Paperback]

John Ofarrell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

A personal account of a Labour supporter's miserable eighteen years under a Tory government. A literary debut which combines wit with barbed insight from the author who has been a full time comedy writer since the voters of Battersea sacked him from his previous job as an MP's researcher for the House of Commons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552998036
• ISBN-13: 978-0552998031
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.9 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,356,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you don't laugh, you'd have to cry..., November 13, 2002

By 

Fiona Wright (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter (Paperback)

This book is hilarious. And so true. If you were an unhappy camper during the Thatcher years in the UK--or are filled with dread by the recent onset of unfettered Republican control in the US you should read this book. The author was a writer on the political satire show SPitting Image in the 1980s and boy does it show. Laugh out loud quality in many part and filled with so unspoken truths. Great stuff.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars But did they?, February 7, 2002

By 

S. Cornforth "Steve Cornforth" (Liverpool, UK England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter (Paperback)

Essential therapy for anybody who supported the Labour Party through eighteen years the of Conservatives Ruling Britain. We feel that O'Farrell was right there with us as pre-election optimism dissolved into miserable failure again and again and again.

Over the years his radical edge is softened by age and cynicism. The vegetarian succumbs to the bacon sandwich. The dedicated capaigner pays the au pair to deliver his election leaflets. The words of the chant have changed - 'What do we want? A winter flowering clematis! When do we want it? Before we lay the patio!'

Is it similar changes which made the Labour Party electable again?

His description of the unforgettable election night of 1997 is the highlight. The defeat of Michael Portillo described as dramatically as the scoring of a winning goal in the Cup Final. Could we ever get?

But did things really get better?

5.0 out of 5 stars Still and excellent book, whatever your political persuasion, June 24, 2011

By 

Magic Lemur (Somewhere in Madagascar) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Things Can Only Get Better: Eighteen Miserable Years in the Life of a Labour Supporter (Paperback)

Name a Conservative comedian.
Give up?
Sadly, as a Tory, I've found there are few that aren't either bigoted or aged, which is why most Conservatives have to go cap-in-hand to commentators such as John O'Farrell.

Although this book is from the perspective of a hardcore Labour activist (he was even went vegetarian for the cause), its humour and humanity make it an enjoyable read. Even when stating his most left-wing of left-wing opinions, O'Farrell still comes across as a decent, genuine guy and it's often easy to read some of it without the penny dropping for a few pages (e.g. about how Labour people are often nicer than Conservatives).

Even up until the very end, where he talks about Labour's monumental 1997 victory, you can fully empathise and laugh along with the author.

And although Labour, like the Tories, have faded from glory with the years of government, this book has lost none of its power. Though comedy ages like cream, somehow the jokes still seem fresh despite the aged subject matter.

So, I'm in the ironic position of recommending a Labour activist's book as a Conservative activist!
Maybe one day Boris Johnson or William Hague will write their humourous memoirs. Somehow, though, I think they will struggle to out-do the trajedy, comedy but, most of all, the joyous energy