I will continue to help the political causes I believe in in any way I can.

I will continue to help the political causes I believe in in any way I can.

So here is one of my theories on happiness: we cannot know if we have lived a truly happy life until the very end. This view of life and death was reinforced by my close witnessing of the buildup to the death of Philip Gould. Philip was without doubt my closest friend in politics. When he died, I felt like I had lost a limb.

The day of the daredevil reporter who refuses to see obstacles to getting the truth, and seeing it with his or her own eyes, seems to have died.

I have always been driven. I have always believed in what I believe very deeply.

I want to write more books, see my first novel made into a film, fight more campaigns, work in more countries. I want to be able to recall experiences that have endured for their pleasure and range and intensity.

Failure, it is thought, is what sells, and what people want to hear and read about. I am not so sure.