A biography of Michael Portillo, the controversial and flamboyant member of John Major's Cabinet. The son of a Spanish Republican refugee and Scottish socialist schoolteacher, Michael Portillo is a different sort of politician. Passionately opposed to a united Europe, totally devoted to the integrity of the United Kingdom, fierce advocate of an ultra-low tax economy, he was a favourite of Margaret Thatcher's court. Now, as one of the most controversial men in the Cabinet, he has inheritted her certainty, elan and many enemies. He is also a popular choice as the flamboyant leader of the future. This biography presents the views of friends and foes alike, guiding the reader through the cabals and rivalries that threaten to split the Tory Party, and providing a portrait of its most distinctive standard-bearer.