'Chris Mullin's diaries stand out'

At first, reading A View from the Foothills: The Diaries of Chris Mullin, it is hard to believe you are reading the diaries of a former hard left politician who worked with Tony Benn on compiling his radical books Arguments for Socialism (1979) and Arguments for Democracy (1981). However, underneath the sense of powerlessness and almost boredom that we get in the first section of the book lies a man of principle who, although loyal to the Labour Party leadership, still makes decisions that other politicians wouldn't .

To give some background, Chris Mullin was an author, journalist and former MP, a minister in three departments and chairman of the Home Affairs select committee. He first entered parliament in 1987 and stayed there until the general election in 2010. On this side of the water, he's probably best known for his work as a journalist highlighting the case of the Birmingham Six.

His diaries are a well written observation of political life at "the foothills of government" that will enthuse anyone who has ever wondered what it's really like. One would imagine that most MPs are delighted when they finally get promoted to the position of being a Minister. These diaries, however, depict a man who actually resisted becoming a Minister and then also resisted all the trimmings that came with a ministerial position, most notably the use of a ministerial car, choosing instead to walk through the streets of London with his red box carrying official departmental papers that "weren't supposed to be transported by public transport". Furthermore, we get a diary that, although written by a senior MP and a junior minister, can hardly be described as being written from an insider's point of view, like The Alastair Campbell Diaries. Rather than a main player, at times Mullin comes across as a voyeur. It is through this insight that the spin-heavy, centralised nature of Tony Blair's leadership and the bureaucratic nature of dealing with civil servants is highlighted.

I was reading the book during the anniversary commemorations of 9/11 and the firsthand account of Chris Mullin's reaction to the event struck me. 'Death in America is a very public affair' writes Mullin, 'not like the countless hundreds who disappear unnoticed in Third World catastrophes'. We also get to witness firsthand the divisions over first Afghanistan and then Iraq, with Mullin wavering at times, but eventually deciding to vote against the war in Iraq.

Amongst the self serving diaries and memoirs of arguably egocentric politicians like Peter Mandelson, Chris Mullin's diaries stand out. He was a government minister who never wanted to be one. He found it soul destroying and felt he hadn't got much influence. If you want a diary from the point of view of the powerful leave this book aside, however, as an insight into the personal and petty frustrations of party politics, these diaries are a must.

Dan O' Neill is a member of the Donnybrook Branch and is editor of the award-winning Tea and Toast political blog.