Cameron biographers at war

The historian Sir Anthony Seldon has responded to strong criticism from the former Conservative treasurer Lord Ashcroft about his proposed book on David Cameron.  Both men plan to publish books on the prime minister later this year, well after the general election.

Seldon’s book has Cameron’s approval.  Ashcroft’s account certainly doesn’t.  Although Ashcroft played a key role in running Cameron’s semi-successful election campaign in 2010, the two men have fallen out badly.

Seldon has built a reputation in recent decades as being the official historian of recent prime ministers, having published detailed accounts of the premierships of John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.  Seldon’s well-established method is for him and his army of assistants and researchers to interview every conceivable person to have worked with the Prime Minister in question.  Often people will be interviewed several times to thrash out exactly what happened.

In a blog for the ConservativeHome website today, Ashcroft reveals that his book will be called “Call Me Dave” (not a bad title), and his blog prints a photo of the cover of his  proposed book, which he is writing with Isabel Oakeshott, the former political editor of the Sunday Times.

Ashcroft claims, however, that Downing Street has been encouraging Seldon to rush out his volume to avoid a clash with Ashcroft’s book.  “Having originally planned to publish during party conference season, I am told that he [Seldon] now intends to publish at the end of July.  No. 10 is so eager to assist that aides have been reading and correcting draft chapters.  It will be a pleasant surprise if his book is not merely a sanitised account.”

And Ashcroft and Oakeshott have clearly found it a bit of a struggle to get people to talk to them.

“Cameron is suspicious,” Ashcroft writes.  “We have tried, and failed, to persuade him to talk. While Seldon has had full co-operation from Number 10 (I am told “everybody” – from Ed Llewellyn, Cameron’s chief of staff, down – has been encouraged to make time for the historian) the Prime Minister has shut the doors to us. Letters to relatives requesting interviews have gone unanswered, and senior aides know he does not want them to help. Some individuals who were willing to talk to us in principle but wanted Downing Street’s blessing were repeatedly stonewalled. Cameron’s strategy appears to be: put up the shutters, then rubbish the book on the basis that we have had no access.”

As the author of several unauthorised biographies myself, I sympathise with Ashcroft’s problem.  But rejections only make one try harder.  And people who refuse to talk at first often talk in the end.

Lord Ashcroft also claims that many of Cameron’s chums and colleagues have ignored the PM’s advice.  “For all his disapproval, the vast majority of those we have approached have agreed to talk, including a number of Number 10 insiders who have assisted amid utmost secrecy. Some of those who like and admire the prime minister struggle to see the sense in blocking positive contributions.”

And Ashcroft adds a cheeky promise about the rival book.  “We eagerly await Seldon’s account, and will incorporate, where relevant, any interesting highlights.”

Sir Anthony Seldon had chosen not to engage with the wealthy Conservative peer.  In a press release this afternoon, he says this book is no different from any of his previous volumes.  “They are all written with help and support from insiders and it has always been my practice, in line with the best traditions of contemporary history, to send back passages to people who know about the particular episodes, so that they can add extra information and check that the accounts are accurate. I am following the methodology which is clearly laid out for such writing by The Institute of Contemporary History which I founded with Lord Hennessy 25 years ago.”

Seldon adds that he wishes Ashcroft and Oakeshott “every success with the completion of their book which I am sure will be excellent”.

The problem for all three authors and their publishers is this: if Cameron loses the election will anyone care about him that much?  Yet also, if Cameron loses, people might be a lot more willing to talk, and give them a lot more interesting material.

Follow @MichaelLCrick on Twitter