Shortlisted for the Galaxy Biography of the Year 2010.
The sequel to Chris Mullin’s highly acclaimed first volume of diaries, A View From the Foothills, widely regarded as the best insider account of the Blair government. On the back benches but still in the thick of it, Decline & Fall runs from Chris Mullin’s sacking as a minister by Tony (‘The Man’) Blair in 2005 to the fall of New Labour in May 2010. Here is politics as it really is: entertaining encounters with constituents and conspirators, tantalising glimpses behind the scenes at the courts of Blair and Brown, all set against the background of the global financial crisis and the Great Expenses Meltdown. Every bit as funny and insightful as A View From the Foothills, the Mullin diaries provide a refreshingly irreverent and humane snapshot of life in the Westminster village. In May 2010 Chris stepped down after 23 years as an MP: ‘ I have heard it said that most MPs stay one parliament too long,’ he says. ‘I thought it better to go one too early, while people are still asking, “Why?” rather than, “When?” ’
Chris Mullin's bestselling A View From the Foothills provided a riveting insider's account of life as a junior minister. Laying bare the personalities, pyrotechnics and political intrigues of the Blair years, it was described as 'Yes Minister meets Alan Clark'. Funny and self-deprecating, the new diaries run from his sacking by Blair as a minister after the 2005 elections to Election Day 2010 as he prepares to step down after 23 years as an MP wryly observing, 'they say failed politicians make the best diarists, in which case I am in with a chance'.
Chris Mullin, author, journalist and former MP, a minister in three departments and chairman of the Home Affairs select committee. His books include a highly acclaimed volume of diaries, “A View from the Foothills” and the novel “A Very British Coup” which was made into an award-winning television series. He is an accomplished public speaker.
