A Very British Coup

Harry the Steelworker... it could have happened... discontent was growing with Maggie and her ilk. Where would be now? I for one would have voted for Harry.. totally believable in almost every respect, including the scenes with our American "friends". Harry could be as hard as steel (excuse the pun) but his heart was totally in the right place. Ray McAnnaly was born to play this role. And the musical score... what more could be said... I believe it won a major (well deserved) reward.. and quite rightly so...

This must rank as one of the best Dramas in British Television History. I have no hesitation in calling this a classic. Totally deserved.

This is an excellent example of the sort of quality production that UK television used to be so capable of turning out. It is quiet, directed and acted without any overblown or cliched soapishness, a well chosen length, paced well, all around just really well made as a piece of storytelling.

What lets it down for me is the narrow party political bias with the 5 advisors listed at the end of the credits including 2 former journalists on Communist newspapers, and a certain Alistair Campbell (could this be the man who, as the unelected Alastair Campbell, was so central and powerful in Blair's governments?). I don't recognise the other 2. Unsurprisingly the script comes across wit a heavy dose of extreme left tropes and dreams, sprinkled here and thee with enough honesty, to act as a propaganda piece.

But it is so obviously a propaganda piece (none of the subtle type of fake news propaganda of today) that this can be tuned out or listened to for what it is. Which is interesting in itself.

I do knock 3 stars off for it though (I would have rated 9 stars otherwise) as it wasn't necessary. OK the recent history of the UK Labour Party at the time included people like Michael Foot but imagine how much better the script would have been if it had been based on an only slightly left of centre Labour Party.

It has also weathered the years very well and with obvious writing changes could have been made recently with either pro or anti Brexit politicians/groups in pace of MacAnaly's extreme left Labour as there are clearly establishment figures on both the "left" and "right" who could be portrayed as the scheming, unelected bad guys.

Ray McInally stars in a three-part miniseries, "A Very British Coup," from 1988.

The story is set in the 1990s, when the Conservatives are ousted from power by Labour, and the new Prime Minister, Harry Perkins (McInally) is one of the common folk, a steelworker and union organizer. One of the common folk, but no dummy. He plain-speaking, down to earth, and his heartfelt speeches and ambitions for the country are met with a large mandate from the public. The Conservatives, of course, are miserable. Harry for one thing isn't part of the good old boy network, and his socialist policies are viewed as disturbing. The other side, the Establishment, goes to work with the help of MI5, the CIA, and the tabloids, to bring him to his knees.

Excellent three-parter done with a wonderful performance by McInally, who died shortly after this. His character displays both political and street smarts, as well as a sense of humor and a keen understanding of how he is viewed by the Establishment.

Very, very enjoyable, and could easily have been filmed a day ago. That's one thing about films and TV shows about politics going back to the classic film days -- it seems that nothing has changed in the world of political chicanery.

A left wing candidate is elected after a hard fought campaign by his right wing rivals. No I am not talking about the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. That is the in fact the beginning of A Very British Coup, an excellent and all too plausible miniseries about a left wing British Prime Minister who radical policies lead to members of the right wing establishment trying to bring him down. In fact it for interesting viewing especially in today's world.

Any good production needs a good cast and A Very British Coup has an excellent cast. Ray McAnally gives the greatest performance of his all too short career as Prime Minister Harry Perkins. McAnally captures perfectly the plain-spoken, charismatic leader in both good times and bad. As Perkins, McAnally makes you want to stand up and cheer for him especially with his final speech. McAnally of course is just the tip of the cast. As Perkins biggest enemy is Alan MacNaughtan as Sir Percy Browne, the almost and quietly threatening head of MI5 who sits at the center of the web of conspiracy to bring down Perkins. The supporting cast is made up of some Britain's finest actors from Keith Allen to Tim McInnery, Philip Madoc, Marjorie Yates, Geofrey Beevers, Jim Carter and Oscar Quitak amongst others. Even in small parts like Inspector Page (Bernard Kay) and Annette Newsome (Caroline John) are filled with terrific actors.

The real star of A Very British Coup is its script. Alan Plater takes Chris Mullin's novel and crafts it into a fascinating study of a government under siege from within. Often in political films or series the plot takes head over the dialogue which leads to stifled dialogue. Plater doesn't let that happen and the dialogue never seems stifled but real and urgent. In fact the whole script seems real and urgent despite some of the issues being dated (such as nuclear disarmament). The fascinating thing about watching this is that change an issue or two and this could be today. The result is a story that has the ability to fascinate some twenty years later.

Another important aspect of the productions is its visuals. Director Mick Jackson and cinematographer Ernie Vincze use the camera and screen time wisely. The result is that A Very British Coup is as much a visual feast as anything else with moments in parts two and three that stand out even today. The miniseries is, as a result, a dark and grainy world full of enemies and thinly veiled threats. This even truer when combined with the music of John Keane and the performances of the cast.

The result of all this from the exceptional performance of Ray McAnally, the performances of the cast, an excellent script that's all too plausible and a visual feast makes A Very British Coup a first rate political thriller. It may be twenty years old and somewhat dated at times but it makes a fascinating viewing that still carries weight today. For at its heart A Very British Coup carries an important and time less message: the greatest enemy of a democracy is not from without but from within. It's a message we shouldn't ignore.

Firstly, I should perhaps counter the two negative reviews by pointing out the novel this was based on was written in the early 1980's when a left wing Labour government could have been a distinct possibility. Thatcher was VERY unpopular as Chris Mullin was writing his novel. But, had Tony Benn replaced the ineffectual Michael Foot as Labour leader - again very possible then -he would have been no Harry Perkins. Lacking the fictional characters street smarts and possibly, wider appeal. But this is fiction after all.

By 1988, when this superb drama was made, Thatcher was still there but the adaptation, with now great foresight as current events show, made more of Perkins rise being due to uncovering massive scandal and criminality in big finance.

Mullin himself was a left winger, though he moderated his views with maturity and, as he himself admitted, the changes in the political landscape. As a well respected MP for Labour from 1987 to 2010, he would vote for Tony Blair as leader in 1994 but against the Iraq war in 2003.

Mullin represented a seat in Sunderland in NE England which suffered terribly under the Tories. He was a very effective Parliamentary Select Committee Chairman then had a series of junior ministerial appointments, the often 'Yes Minister' or even 'The Thick Of It' like events he had then are recounted with his trademark humour and self deprecation in his dairies,

The Novel and this adaptation crop up in these widely acclaimed dairies of his life, political and personal, that have been published over the last few years, he kept them from 1994 to 2010.

If there was a 'Mullin' character in the book and TV show, it's 'Fred Thompson' played by Keith Allen, like Mullin when he wrote the book, a campaigning journalist, though as described in the book as rather more physically like the author than in the TV film, not to take anything away from Allen's performance.

I cannot add much more to the mostly positive reviews, that this was shown in 30 countries, won a stack of awards, was cited by Mullin's political allies and opponents years later, is testament to the novel and this excellent, so well made and acted drama.

I will add that though I'm left of centre, I would not have supported Harry Perkins anti nuclear, anti NATO policies. Not that this in anyway reduced my enjoyment of this drama which I've watched and enjoyed many times.