The most talked about and possibly most influential author in Britain at the moment made a special appearance at the Bath Literature Festival on Tuesday.

No, it wasn't JK Rowling or Dan Brown, but the somewhat unlikely figure of the assistant editor of The Observer newspaper, Andrew Rawnsley.

For two weeks ago Rawnsley's latest book – The End of the Party – which unveiled an image of Gordon Brown as an occasional bully was serialised in his newspaper and went on to dominate the whole news and political agenda.

It is an amazing way for an author to publicise a new book but for the respected political correspondent it has given him a new status, one that has thrust him into the limelight in a way which has surprised him.

"It is a strange position as a journalist to suddenly find that you're being written about and are at the centre of attention," he told the Chronicle. "It has been interesting to have people talking about the book in such detail – and of course to find myself nose-to-nose with the whole Number 10 machine as a result".

Rawnsley was at the festival as one of the panellists for a debate organised by Prospect magazine entitled Does the General Election Still Matter?

The award-winning journalist fervently believes the election does indeed matter. And he accepts that his words may yet have an impact on the way some people vote as their perception of the current Prime Minister's character may have altered.

Indeed, such is the impact of the book that it has been suggested in some quarters that Mr Brown was keen that his recent TV interview with Piers Morgan – which showed a more human side of the Prime Minister – went out the week before as a way of getting the "defence in first".

"Yes, I have heard it said that this is why Mr Brown's interview went out it when it did to pre-empt the book but obviously I have no idea about that. It is just my job to tell the story, to tell the truth and to present it in as fair and balanced way as I can."

Rawnsley also admits that the publication of his serialisation in the Observer – which is not exactly known for its Conservative support – may be at odds with many of his own paper's readers. But he feels that his professional responsibilities to his job should outweigh that concern.

"I fundamentally believe that it is not the role of a journalist to be a cheerleader for any political party. Yes, some of this material may go against the grain of belief of many of our readers but I am unapologetic about that. I think Observer readers want their newspaper to be truthful and fair above all and I think I have done that. There is a lot of positive material about New Labour in the book as well as some of the other more highly-publicised material about the character of Mr Brown."

The author admits that the title of his book, which refers to the 'end' of New Labour, may be construed as a little premature and he said one or two Labour ministers who are still friendly with him say he may have to consider putting a question mark at the end of it if things go differently.

As for the 'star' of the book himself, Gordon Brown, does Rawnsley feel the two can work together again in the future – something vital in his political reporting role?

"My previous book called Servants of the People was also quite critical in part of some of the New Labour team but I was still able to work with many of those I wrote within a short time. However, I think I may have to give Mr Brown a cooling off period before I contact him again after this new book," he said.

After speaking to the Chronicle, Rawnsley joined Anne McElvoy, a political columnist for the London Evening Standard and Prospect, and the outspoken Peter Hitchens of the Daily Mail for a very lively debate about the state of modern politics.

Hitchens was the most vocal in his belief that although the election was indeed important, the reality is there was hardly anything to choose in policy terms between the Tories and Labour. On the subjects of Afghanistan, the EU, comprehensive education, immigration and the welfare state, he said the two main parties were 'identical'. And he was particularly scathing about the new-look Conservative.

"The Conservative Party is a finished party. If the Conservative Party was your fridge, all your food would be bad. It is a ghost party. I could carve a better party out of a banana," he said.

Despite Hitchens' somewhat dismissive comments of the current British political scene, the other panellists – who were expertly kept in order by the chairman James Crabtree from Prospect – stressed the importance of the General Election and said that it would be one of the most unpredictable and close battles in modern history.

"Whoever wins the election will face some enormous challenges and will deal with the issues in different ways and it is important people get involved. And I do not believe anyone who says the parties are all the same – they are not," said Rawnsley.

See Sam Holliday p44.