Left behind by Tom (at a guess) at the cottage in the Christmas to New Year period, A View from the Foothills is the first set of political diaries I’ve manages to read all the way through. Readable for two reasons – Chris Mullin comes across as a genuine MP, rather than one in it for fame and fortune, with a real human’s failings and foibles, and the period he writes about (July 1999 – 09 May 2005) features events that I lived through and thought about as an adult.
One small niggle about the book though, is that Jean Corston appears through out and yet she’s not listed as a member of the ‘Cast’ at the start of the book. She’s an unfamiliar name to me, and yet comes across as an influential and respected player in the murky world of Westminster and the wider political world from party and international relations.
Amazon.co.uk link: A View from the Foothills – The diaries of Chris Mullin