The Best of British Political Cartoons 2014
Edited by Tim Benson
(Scribe £12.99)

For the second year running, the tandem of Scribe and Tim Benson have come up with an engrossing anthology of editorial cartoons from the national newspapers in Britain — some 189 in all — drawn by 22 recidivist political malcontents.

The impact of the works comes as no surprise, given Benson’s unique dedication to the art of cartooning via the Political Cartoon Society (PCS), with its prestigious trio of annual awards and a plethora of publishing and commercial activities.

The Morning Star’s contingent of Bluelou, Rob Amos and the godfather/midwife of present-day cartooning at the paper, Martin Rowson, are all there.

Also included is work by Ben Jennings, former winner of the PCS Cartoonist of the Year Award and whose evolution has been nothing short of spectacular, and the understated visions of Bob Moran. Both cut their satirical teeth in the pages of this paper.

Benson’s selection aims to deliver pertinent comments on salient political events, murky agendas and the despicable individuals behind them, with each cartoon accompanied by brief explanatory captions.

Every single one of those caricatured miscreants is where they are by the grace of our vote — or lack of it it perhaps — so, obliquely, the joke is often on us.

Yet the anthology is a powerful testimony to the enduringly rich vein of creative dissent present in Britain today, which is matched by the public’s appetite for satire and mockery. That’s a climate no politician should feel safe in.

The impressive variety of styles, employing intricate brush strokes, likenesses and mimicry of those hung out to dry is a revitalising pleasure, tinged as it is with the sweet taste of revenge.

Gordon Brown silently and menacingly “resurfacing” as an incarnation of the Loch Ness monster behind the unsuspecting Alex Salmond in Dave Brown’s hilarious mini-masterpiece or Benjamin Netanyahu “blowing his top” as Iran and the US shake hands over a nuclear deal in Morten Moreland’s expressive tableaux are just a couple of examples of the top-drawer work in these pages.

As a readily assimilable and graphic reminder of the year in politics, this book arrives in good time for next year’s general election.
And it makes the ideal Christmas gift that will soothe, inspire and infuriate in equal measure.