One More Time...

OXFORD, England –Four weeks ago, I left Atlanta, unsure of what I would find across the ocean. It had been more than a decade since I had visited the United Kingdom, and, as we all know, much has changed.

Politically, during my last visit, Tony Blair’s Labour Party enjoyed incredible popularity; today, depending on the sample, Labour polls at around 17%. The Conservatives, who during my first visit were in hiding, are reenergized and almost certain to take control whenever Gordon Brown calls an election, which he must do by June 2010. Support for the monarchy remains strong.

Culturally, this country is gearing up to host the 2012 Olympics. London is still one of the most vibrant and influential capitals anywhere in the world, and the magic of Westminster and Buckingham Palace have not changed. Islamic fundamentalists attacked little more than four years ago, a haunting reminder of terror in a country that knew it for so long from the likes of the IRA. After all, two people I interviewed were nearly killed by an IRA mortar attack in 1991.

The food has improved, at least from what I remember. Oxford is filled with terrific ethnic restaurants – I had excellent Thai food for lunch today – but the local fare of fish and chips is still deservedly a staple. Breakfast could use some work, though.

I have learned a great deal over the past few weeks. I have met some of this country’s most dynamic leaders and learned something from each. I will be hard-pressed to forget tea with Peter Carrington, getting lost in the House of Lords with Douglas Hurd, or watching Tom King’s head snap around toward the window with every clap of thunder.

I’ve visited Canterbury Cathedral, seen the White Cliffs of Dover, and seen one of Shakespeare’s plays in Stratford. I’ve dined on fish and chips, Thai food, and McDonald’s. I’ve driven all over London – saw Buckingham Palace the first day – and have flown (or will have flown) in and out of eight different airports (Atlanta, Berlin, Cincinnati, Dusseldorf, Gatwick, Heathrow, Munich, and Prague.)

It has been a very busy, very rewarding visit across the Atlantic. I’m glad I came. Please be sure to see the acknowledgements section below, and thank you for reading.

From the United Kingdom, good day.

Acknowledgements

My visit to Europe over the last four weeks has been extraordinary. My trip has been extraordinary thanks to the efforts of a number of people. An attempt at a list follows.

The administration of the University of Alabama has been incredibly supportive of my work here in the United Kingdom, and the faculty has followed suit. Dr. Jacqueline Morgan, the associate dean of the Honors College, and Wellon Bridgers, the coordinator of the University Fellows Experience, provided encouragement in the run-up to my departure for Europe, as did Drs. Doug Gibler, Jennifer Greer, Howard Jones, and Chris Roberts.

I had the remarkable opportunity to interview eight of Britain’s top leaders during my stay. Each of those leaders – Peter Carrington, Michael Howard, Geoffrey Howe, Douglas Hurd, Tom King, Nigel Lawson, David Owen, and Malcolm Rifkind – took a chance on me by granting an interview to an unknown American. I hope I gave them the fair hearing that I promised.

Once the leaders agreed to talk with me, I worked with their wonderful staff members to nail down the logistics. The interviews could not have happened without the assistance and toleration of Diana Atkinson, Pauline Glock, Lorraine Pitcher, Ola Rathbone, Maggie Smart, Christine Shaylor, and Helen Smeed.

Since I was terrified of what was to happen with these interviews, I sought counsel from a Hall of Fame collection of journalists. David Greising of the Chicago Tribune provided exceptional advice, as did Dana Priest of the Washington Post. Frank Sesno, formerly of CNN and now with the George Washington University, and Jim Lehrer of PBS offered their guidance as best they could, as did Christi Parsons of the Los Angeles Times. Brian Kelly and Mortimer Zuckerman of US News & World Report both took the time to tell me I had a solid story on my hands, which provided a lot of motivation to keep going when things appeared more complicated than ever. David Frum of the American Enterprise Institute and Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution offered their incredible wealth of knowledge from the outset of this project. I am grateful to all of them.

In London and in Oxford, I was fortunate enough to have a terrific team in the form of Liz Hester, my photographer, and Hillary Moore, my editorial assistant. They have endured long hours, a flash flood in London, and my endless rambles to help me tell a story. Liz took all of the spectacular images you have seen on this blog, and Hillary helped to jog my memory as I wrote the story you will see in the coming weeks. Morgan Henry stood in for Liz one day, and she recorded some great moments with David Owen.

Meredith helped me to stay sane before and during my trip. Her efforts – and her willingness to give up her boyfriend for four weeks in the summer so he could chase a dream – have been nothing short of terrific. Not that I expected anything different from her; she has always proven to be amazing.

My parents and sister provided a terrific amount of support for this trip. We’ve had plenty of web cam and Facebook chats over the past few weeks, but I am ready to see them again in-person.

Thank you for reading, for making this blog worth some time every day. I know who some of you are, but to the others, thanks for joining me. It’s been a good ride.

Nearing the Finish

OXFORD, England -- Tomorrow is my last full day in the United Kingdom, and I have spent much of today working on my history essay. It is nearing completion, and I'll be doing the final edits (as I am permitted to do) as I return to the United States.

Right now, I am preparing to go finish off the rest of the communal hall ice cream. Some of us went in together to buy a few containers of what the Brits call ice cream and chocolate sauce (Blue Bell and Hershey's have nothing to worry about.) Since the group dines with the provost tomorrow - and dessert will reportedly be good - we're planning to clog our arteries tonight.

More - my final post from Europe - tomorrow.

Until Tomorrow...

OXFORD, England -- I spent much of my day working on my history final, so there isn't much to say except that the paper is nearing completion and I ate a lot today because British food doesn't seem to fill me up, probably because I have yet to try the baked beans at breakfast. Just thought I'd share.

Gordon and Me

LONDON – To fully understand how the British prime minister and, indeed, the entire Labour Party has blacklisted me, you need a basic primer on UK politics. For some of you, this might be patronizing.

The UK is a parliamentary democracy. Voters elect Members of Parliament (MPs), who, in turn, elect the prime minister. The prime minister then names his cabinet ministers, who are all members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. Because of this, and how the British system mainly focuses on cabinet members and not random MPs, members of the cabinet, for the most part, owe their political livelihood to the prime minister. The prime minister and the cabinet collectively form “Her Majesty’s Government.”

The prime minister sets the tone of the government from 10 Downing, and the cabinet then implements policy in the various departments. While members of the cabinet are more independent in the UK than they are in the United States, their movements and actions are still very tightly-controlled by the prime minister’s office.

This includes media interviews.

As many of you know, I have been over here working on a special series of interviews with Britain’s most prominent leaders, including five foreign secretaries. Out of the eight people I have interviewed, I have talked with seven Conservatives and one independent. I have yet to talk to a current member of the Labour Party.

That is not by choice. I sent out more than a dozen interview requests to members of the Labour Party. All declined or ignored the request.

A few of the Conservatives asked if I was planning to talk with Labour. When I explained that I had tried, one commented that 10 Downing had probably issued instructions telling cabinet ministers not to cooperate with my story.

I thought that was melodramatic and the speaker was, perhaps, senile. I doubted the prime minister’s office was going to, quite frankly, waste time conspiring against a teenager. And, thanks to my own ignorance, I didn’t realize the extent of involvement from the PM’s office on media decisions for others.

In the US, leaders and their staffs tend to make media decisions independent of others. Sure, they might listen to advice, but only rarely does, say, the White House intervene and tell the secretary of state not to talk.

I learned of my ignorance while reading a biography of Tony Blair, and I came to realize the extent of the influence of 10 Downing on media matters.

After consulting with some others actively involved in British politics and media, I came to the novel conclusion that instructions on my requests came from the highest levels.

I don’t think Gordon Brown, the prime minister, sat at his desk and cooked up a big scheme against me himself. But based on how Labour has reacted (or not reacted, I suppose), with its coordinated answer of “no” (I am not kidding when I say NO ONE agreed to talk, despite almost everyone else saying yes), it’s a safe bet that direction came from someone somewhere. It’s just ironic, to say the least, that so many said yes while the only people who declined were those from Labour (with the exception of two Conservatives.)

And since the buck stops with the prime minister on everything that emanates from 10 Downing, he gets the “credit” in this case.

I don’t know why Labour refused to talk; it seemed to me to be in their best interest so I wouldn’t be writing a piece solely about Conservatives.

But they made their choice. The story is going to print. Sorry, Prime Minister.

More Tomorrow...

OXFORD, England -- Back in Oxford after a safe trip from Prague. Not much to write about today considering it was a travel day, so hopefully I'll have something more interesting for you tomorrow.

Forgetfulness

Since I completely forgot to post the photos I promised below, here's a link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2023795&id=1121340048&l=fe8ff6b8f9