Frank Field told me: ‘Allowing Gordon Brown into No 10 would be like letting Mrs Rochester out of the attic’

Frank Field was a brave and compassionate politician who launched many successful campaigns in his life. But he was a political maverick who had a complex relationship with the Labour Party he represented as an MP for nearly 40 years. He was close to Margaret Thatcher, but only survived as a minister under Tony Blair for a year and clashed with Gordon Brown, as Simon Walters describes

Frank Field, man of mischief and principle (PA Archive)

Frank Field was a mass of contradictions. A Labour politician who preferred Margaret Thatcher to any Labour prime minister. An anti-poverty campaigner who wanted to reduce the amount spent on welfare benefits. A devout Christian affectionately known as “Saint Frank” who loved gossip and was capable of aiming unsaintly barbs at his political foes – as I discovered in my dealings with him over many years as a Westminster journalist.

I vividly recall one of our meetings in early 2007. Tony Blair was coming to the end of his premiership and Field was determined to stop chancellor Gordon Brown succeeding him. He called me over and explained in forthright terms why he considered Brown to be unfit to rule – and why the public should know about it. 

One particular phrase in the interview stood out.