They were the two most incompatible partners in power. Tony Blair was rarely seen without a broad smile, Gordon Brown wore a permanent sulk. Blair enjoyed being among the flunkies; Brown, a late night workaholic, preferred solitude. When Blair unhesitatingly espoused the free market legacy of Margaret Thatcher and presented it as New Labour, Brown continued to peddle Labour’s left of Centre policies. Yet they worked together, as prime minister and chancellor of exchequer, giving the United Kingdom an unprecedented long run of economic boom.

Their love-hate relationship is now being presented in the form of an autobiographical, albeit partial, account by Cherie Blair, wife of Tony Blair. The Westminster grapevine is that Cherie’s autobiography is an act of betrayal at a time when Prime Minister Brown is having a particularly tough time. Some even say the publication date was brought forward from October to May to add to the woes of Brown. He is facing a virtual revolt after his party’s disastrous defeat in the recent local elections and the tactical hara-kiri he committed by withdrawing tax concessions for the poorest of the poor.

According to Cherie, their problems began from the first cabinet meeting in 1997, when Brown, as chancellor of exchequer, opposed a 26 per cent rise in ministerial salaries. Cherie was shocked: “How dare Gordon do that? What did he know about financial commitments? He was a bachelor living on his own in a flat with a small mortgage”.

In an interview Cherie admitted that there was “a problem between Gordon and me” and that “I was just terribly partisan for Tony and I’m sure Sarah is partisan for Gordon, and so she should be.” At one point she wanted Blair to sack Gordon Brown from the cabinet. “Gordon’s impatience” to take over from Blair was a problem, she argues.

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