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If they learn that lesson, then 1997 will deservedly be remembered as a truly remarkable year.. If You are the parent of a dyslexic child, or suspect that you are but no one is telling you, no doubt you have already run into late- night arguments with your partner as you try to work out what to do. Ignore it? Believe advice that he or she will outgrow it? Or move heaven and earth and a lot of cash to get help?

Did Tony and Cherie Blair have similar arguments when she sued an education authority for failing to give adequate teaching to a dyslexic girl? Or did Tony smile ruefully and say, “Well the last government…” Did he explain gently to his admiring wife that under Labour things would be different, that the quality of education would be improved – with better trained teachers and smaller classes – and that all problems would disappear? That at last someone was going to tell Miss Doitallandsagging how to teach. The Ecclestone affair was troubling because ministers were either unable or unwilling to provide a full explanation. On lone parents’ benefits, there was a disquieting lack of candour which saw our newly elected representatives appear condescending and patronising.

Mr Blair, his ministers and his battery of media advisers must appreciate that involving the people is one thing; maintaining their trust and support is quite another. Such an aim is to be applauded and could go a long way towards removing the political apathy that enfeebles British society The omens are encouraging, but not convincing. For while Mr Blair is a worthy winner of the Man of the Year award and has notched up a string of achievements since gaining power, he has coupled his declared desire to reach out and involve everyone with a heavy, controlling hand. On occasions, presentation has dominated policy, putting gloss ahead of substance That will not do.

It is no use Peter Mandelson, the Minister Without Portfolio, waxing lyrical about the Millennium Dome, to be built at a cost of pounds 750m – enough money to cure hospital waiting lists at a stroke – without saying what it will contain. As a legal precedent it was troubling.Mr Blair wants this to be an age of inclusive, consensual policy-making in which the bulk of the population has a place and a voice. As an example of “people power”, the Woodward case could not be bettered. It was in fact as it was billed: The People versus Louise Woodward; she was condemned by 12 people on the jury; but a much greater mass of people in America, in Elton, her home village in Cheshire, and throughout this country, protested Shortly after, the verdict was overturned. As he said so unforgettably on her death, Diana was the “people’s Princess” But there is more to this mood than labels. It is about popular empowerment, and leaders who declare themselves willing to listen to the message from the masses.

The fields of flowers outside Kensington and Buckingham Palaces and the snaking queues of mourners waiting to sign books of condolence are an enduring image of the year. Of greater significance, however, was the way in which the Royal Family was required to respond and give ground.
A different memory of 1997 was the drama in the Massachusetts court-room when Louise Woodward, an English nanny, was found guilty of the first- degree murder of an American baby. In this country where the televising of trials is still forbidden, the live coverage of the Woodward case became a gripping collective experience. Nothing seems to matter any more unless it carries the people’s prefix. This phenomenon has been fostered by Mr Blair himself who is keen to be portrayed as the “people’s prime minister”.