A View From The Foothills: The Diaries of Chris Mullin

Description

'It is said that failed politicians make the best diarists. In which case I am in with a chance.' - Chris Mullin Chris Mullin has been a Labour MP for twenty years, and despite his refusal to toe the party line - on issues like 90 days detention, for example - he has held several prominent posts. To the apoplexy of the whips, he was for a time the only person appointed to government who voted against the Iraq War. He also chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee and was a member of the Parliamentary Committee, giving him direct access to the court of Tony Blair. Irreverent, wry and candid, Mullin's keen sense of the ridiculous allows him to give a far clearer insight into the workings of Government than other, more overtly successful politicians. He offers humorous and incisive takes on all aspects of political life: from the build-up to Iraq, to the scandalous sums of tax-payers' money spent on ministerial cars he didn't want to use. His critically acclaimed diary will entertain and amuse far beyond the political classes.

Chris Mullin has been the Labour MP for Sunderland South since 1987. He chaired the Home Affairs Select Committee and served in three departments. He is the author of the bestselling novel A Very British Coup, soon to be re-published by Serpent's Tail, which was turned into an award-winning television series.

The sharpest and most revealing political diaries since Alan Clark's. -- Simon Hoggart * Guardian * Chris Mullin's diaries deserve to become the central text for understanding the Blair years -- Peter Riddell * The Times * At the moment my favourite Labour MP is Chris Mullin, partly because I enormously enjoyed A View From The Foothills -- William Hague * Independent *