What do you think?
Rate this book
Diary of an MP's Wife: Inside and Outside Power
What is it like to be a wife of a politician in modern-day Britain? Sasha Swire finally lifts the lid.
For more than twenty years she has kept a secret diary detailing the trials and tribulations of being a political plus-one, and gives us a ringside seat at the seismic political events of the last decade. A professional partner and loyal spouse, Swire has strong political opinions herself - sometimes more 'No, Minister' than 'Yes'. She detonates the stereotype of the dutiful wife.
From shenanigans in Budleigh Salterton to state banquets at Buckingham Palace, gun-toting terrorist busters in pizza restaurants to dinners in Downing Street sitting next to Boris Johnson, Devon hedges to partying with City hedgies, she observes the great and the not-so-great at the closest of quarters. The results are painfully revealing and often hilariously funny. Here are the friendships and the fall-outs, the general elections and the leadership contests, the scandals and the rivalries. Swire showed up, shored up and rarely shut up. She also wrote it all down.
Diary of an MP's Wife is a searingly honest, wildly indiscreet and often uproarious account of what life is like in the thick of it.
For more than twenty years she has kept a secret diary detailing the trials and tribulations of being a political plus-one, and gives us a ringside seat at the seismic political events of the last decade. A professional partner and loyal spouse, Swire has strong political opinions herself - sometimes more 'No, Minister' than 'Yes'. She detonates the stereotype of the dutiful wife.
From shenanigans in Budleigh Salterton to state banquets at Buckingham Palace, gun-toting terrorist busters in pizza restaurants to dinners in Downing Street sitting next to Boris Johnson, Devon hedges to partying with City hedgies, she observes the great and the not-so-great at the closest of quarters. The results are painfully revealing and often hilariously funny. Here are the friendships and the fall-outs, the general elections and the leadership contests, the scandals and the rivalries. Swire showed up, shored up and rarely shut up. She also wrote it all down.
Diary of an MP's Wife is a searingly honest, wildly indiscreet and often uproarious account of what life is like in the thick of it.
538 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 24, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
Read
May 20, 2021Most MPs had no idea what was going on or what they were being asked to vote on
For the record, I'm a tribal as well as ideological anti-Tory so reading this book was an opportunity to indulge my prejudices (which were met!) but this is also an entertaining read partly through Swire's own blind-spots (calling her father 'Sir John' in what seems a non tongue-in-cheek way) but also because she writes with some verve - see the quotation below on Dominic Cummings, for example.
The first half shows us the Swires chumming around with Dave and Sam Cam - shooting weekends, little dinner parties, a hilarious scene of male one-upmanship as Dave and Hugo go for a run with their security guards trailing in the car reassuring Hugo they have the defibrillator! This all leads up to the Brexit referendum, and then the second half becomes choppier since politics does too, with that revolving door of Tory politicians.
Swire is the epitome of that old cliché: with friends like this who needs enemies, and is ready to ditch anyone in the dirt. Which may not be spiritually edifying but does make for amusing reading: Prince Charles' 'sausage fingers', the generalised bitchiness and back-stabbing of Westminster, 'chit-chat Clegg' are all here, and Swire is not afraid to call out the 'rabid right-wing loonies that we count among our members'.
What is made abundantly clear is how the 'mateocracy' around Cameron worked and how they were picked off after his 2016 fall; and the horribly incestuous nature of Tory politicians: it's not just the Old Etonians/Oxbridge/Bullingdon/London clubs, but Swire herself has known Amber Rudd, for example, since they were both 18 and friendships and lovers all revolve around the same little privileged enclave. The Swires make fun of their quaint constituents and they all find it hilarious that at Party fundraiser balls they can make jokes about people on benefits (that's just after Iain Duncan Smith came up with his 'reforms', natch). More exhaustingly, there are the usual moans about 'BBC bias' neatly side-stepping all the big media owners who are Party donors.
Swire likes to think of herself as a feminist but she's quick to diss 'Old Ma May's' 'glitterball heels'. Oddly, she likes both Arlene Foster (DUP)... and thinks Michelle Obama is 'the tops'.
So an entertaining read with its short, snappy diary entries though the second half post 2016 becomes less funny as the Swires are on a campaign to get Hugo knighted, which he was, and the whole Brexit debacle with its revolving door of politicians and chaos is just as painful to read about as it was to live through. The text ends on p.460, and the rest is acknowledgements, notes and an index. So yes, read it for the gossipy tone and moments of indiscretion, but don't expect it to change your view of the Tory Party.
Read
September 29, 2020What a dreadful pedestrian and boring book! What possessed me to buy this book I really don't know. The period covered is 2010 - 2019. The diary had originally included the decade before also but with a total of one million words, the publisher I guess decided to shorten it.
This book should not have been shortened. Sasha Swire should have kept it hidden as originally meant as a diary, never to see the light of day.
This is sheer tittle tattle about politicians, as is to be expected of an MP's wife of the period. Much about David and Samantha Cameron as they are close friends. The odd comment about Boris Johnson and Sasha's private life with her husband Hugo, etc.
Factual situations such as Northern Ireland and Brexit were interesting but overall a waste of reading time with 527 pages.
The publishing house Little, Brown have a beautifully presented hardback due to the printing and binding by Clays Ltd. It's just a pity about the contents.
A disappointment.
This book should not have been shortened. Sasha Swire should have kept it hidden as originally meant as a diary, never to see the light of day.
This is sheer tittle tattle about politicians, as is to be expected of an MP's wife of the period. Much about David and Samantha Cameron as they are close friends. The odd comment about Boris Johnson and Sasha's private life with her husband Hugo, etc.
Factual situations such as Northern Ireland and Brexit were interesting but overall a waste of reading time with 527 pages.
The publishing house Little, Brown have a beautifully presented hardback due to the printing and binding by Clays Ltd. It's just a pity about the contents.
A disappointment.
January 3, 2021
I feel a bit dirty for having read this, but it did make me laugh at times. Will now take a shower and soothe my lefty soul with the Guardian.
December 21, 2022
This is a diary from Sasha Swire,the wife of former MP, now Peer, Hugo Swire
I confess to only vaguely knowing the name but when googled him found a wealth of information about him and his family name
This diary straight away was of interest when the author reveals that as a wife of an MP who worked for him part of the time he was in Parliament ( this practice of family members working for MP’s/Peers is now disallowed ) she was NOT a Civil Servant, nor classed as working for the Government so she was free to use real names, for instance Boris or David Cameron, there is no second guessing who she is writing about as she clearly says who 😀 ( she does abbreviate sometimes ie DC )
It runs from Cameron winning to Boris winning their General Elections and all that’s inbetween Inc Brexit and not just UK Parliament events but world and personal events as well
It is biting, I wonder if Mrs Swire had any political based friends left after this was published?, she makes no bones on her feelings about literally everyone and has to be said few come away unscathed, even those she classes as lifelong friends, I woukd not care for her as an enemy or tbh as a friend!
It is fascinating, I went from anger at the blatant privilege ( not a word I use usually, but it exists and this book clearly shows this ) of the 1% and their lifestyles ( ok with a heavy touch of envy thrown in ) to real laughter at the antics she describes and the situations she finds herself in
No one can say she isn’t honest, I imagine some colleagues and political foes alike said it was ‘too honest’, on the other hand it showed the human and vulnerable side of names we heard/hear daily
A long read at 550 pages but as with all diary reads it moves quickly and you never quite know what is going to be written about next
Have to admire the author in her brutal openness even though at times you feel you would have to be something very very special to meet her elusive exacting standards in friendship, politics and life
Hugoely enjoyable ( get it ? ) titillating, brusque, informative, frantic, head shakingly shocking and pleasurable to read
I confess to only vaguely knowing the name but when googled him found a wealth of information about him and his family name
This diary straight away was of interest when the author reveals that as a wife of an MP who worked for him part of the time he was in Parliament ( this practice of family members working for MP’s/Peers is now disallowed ) she was NOT a Civil Servant, nor classed as working for the Government so she was free to use real names, for instance Boris or David Cameron, there is no second guessing who she is writing about as she clearly says who 😀 ( she does abbreviate sometimes ie DC )
It runs from Cameron winning to Boris winning their General Elections and all that’s inbetween Inc Brexit and not just UK Parliament events but world and personal events as well
It is biting, I wonder if Mrs Swire had any political based friends left after this was published?, she makes no bones on her feelings about literally everyone and has to be said few come away unscathed, even those she classes as lifelong friends, I woukd not care for her as an enemy or tbh as a friend!
It is fascinating, I went from anger at the blatant privilege ( not a word I use usually, but it exists and this book clearly shows this ) of the 1% and their lifestyles ( ok with a heavy touch of envy thrown in ) to real laughter at the antics she describes and the situations she finds herself in
No one can say she isn’t honest, I imagine some colleagues and political foes alike said it was ‘too honest’, on the other hand it showed the human and vulnerable side of names we heard/hear daily
A long read at 550 pages but as with all diary reads it moves quickly and you never quite know what is going to be written about next
Have to admire the author in her brutal openness even though at times you feel you would have to be something very very special to meet her elusive exacting standards in friendship, politics and life
Hugoely enjoyable ( get it ? ) titillating, brusque, informative, frantic, head shakingly shocking and pleasurable to read
October 1, 2020
Enough to turn anyone rational into a committed communist.
December 18, 2020
Couldn't finish this: gave up after 50 pages of interminable wining and dining, mutual back-slapping, matey upper class badinage and Hooray Henry in-jokes. It's very well written. But that doesn't make it particularly funny (the 'humour' is often adolescent) or a huge pleasure to read. It tells us all we need to know about dim, shallow 'Dave' Cameron and his little circle of entitled toffs who ran the country until 2016 and the gang of dim, entitled Brexiteer toffs who run it now - and what a depressing read that is. It's very indiscreet, but not enough to make up for the generally indulgent tone. And Lady Swire is obviously a complete witch. No, not a laugh, not particularly revelatory, certainly in no way inspiring and not a comfortable bedtime read either, just page after page to confirm what we already knew, what a collection of entitled clowns we have running the country. Don't bother.
Shelved as 'maybe'
September 15, 2020
- In one vignette, Lady Swire claims that David Cameron insisted that she walk behind him on a coastal walk on the grounds that “that scent you are wearing . . . makes me want to grab you and push you into the bushes and give you one!”
- No one in the book gave permission for it to be published. When asked in an interview by The Times if she had been in touch with those mentioned in the book - her private diaries - for their permission, she stares blankly at the writer, saying 'Oh, I haven’t done that.'
via Tatler
November 7, 2020
This is a fun read if you can put aside the horrible sense of entitlement and free-loading that seems to characterise Mrs Swire’s existence - it is such a long way from how so many voters live their lives. This transparent honesty makes the diaries a good read. Modernising spin doctors would I am sure prefer that this sort of take on the lifestyles of our political classes were kept under lock and key or left in the past. No one comes out of these chronicles especially well which is what makes this take on the last ten years quite entertaining.
November 23, 2020
This was a painful read from start to finish. Had to drag myself through it just to prove to myself I could do it. It made me even more depressed about British politicians than I already was; plus the author is very, very hard to like. Her observations make me cringe. Perhaps I'm just jealous of her charmed life and ridiculous social set up; but there's something really vacuous and lacking in this book that I can't quite put my finger on...
April 25, 2021
This is really difficult to review because lots of it is quite interesting but she and her friends are absolutely atrocious people, so it depends whether you can bear to sit through the nauseating tales of their privileged lives in order to get to the good bits about the political developments. Borrow it from the library or from someone else so she doesn't make any money from you reading it (not that she would need it)
May 25, 2021
I found myself reading this faster and faster, mostly because it is tedious in parts and would have been much more appealing as a shorter document. I also needed to get the end so I could wash my mind out with soap and water. Sasha Swires a very opinionated woman, with a great deal of confidence in her own rightness; very occasionally, say about 3% of the time, I find myself agreeing with her. She was of course with her husband a friend of David Cameron and shared all his attitudes; but by the end of this she had become a convinced brexiteer. She has great contempt for those who do not share her views, and I suspect on the evidence here that contempt is extended to those from different social backgrounds. There is fun to be had here; she is for instance very sharp about Boris, until he becomes leader and wins an election, at which point she becomes an admirer. Many of the jokes are supplied by her husband, Hugo, who is famous for being politically incorrect. You have been warned. I tend to feel that selected extracts from this should be mandatory reading for those who voted Tory last time or are thinking of doing so again.
January 22, 2021
With friends like Sasha Swire, who needs enemies... This sadly confirms all the clichés about the higher echelons of society, the royals and the Conservatives as a clique of toffs preoccupied with self-preservation and self-interest.
Although I feel dirty saying it, I did enjoy finding out the inside gossip, infighting between MPs, history of Dominic Cummings' rise to power and attitudes towards Michael Gove and Prince Andrew, despite having very different political views to the writer.
However, Swire's growing viciousness in the latter part of the book tainted it for me. While she is quick to reveal the dirt on most around her, it's noticeable she doesn't for those closest to home.
Swire comes across as a thoroughly awful woman who is perfectly happy to throw so-called friends to the wolves - but maybe that's why she is involved with British politics.
Although I feel dirty saying it, I did enjoy finding out the inside gossip, infighting between MPs, history of Dominic Cummings' rise to power and attitudes towards Michael Gove and Prince Andrew, despite having very different political views to the writer.
However, Swire's growing viciousness in the latter part of the book tainted it for me. While she is quick to reveal the dirt on most around her, it's noticeable she doesn't for those closest to home.
Swire comes across as a thoroughly awful woman who is perfectly happy to throw so-called friends to the wolves - but maybe that's why she is involved with British politics.
January 6, 2024
3.5 - I hate that I (mostly) enjoyed this. Don’t get me wrong, the majority of her views are horrid, nevertheless it was an interesting read. Now time to retweet some Labour Party tweets to repent my sins…
October 4, 2020
Zzzzzzzzzzzz
One of the most boring books I have ever read, if you stay awake your braver than me. Bring on Jeremy Corbyn
One of the most boring books I have ever read, if you stay awake your braver than me. Bring on Jeremy Corbyn
February 27, 2024
This book is the reading equivalent of receiving teethy head. DNF
October 18, 2020
Lady Sasha Swire has been immersed in the world of government politics since she was born. Her father, Sir John Nott, was Secretary of State in Thatcher’s government and she is married to Hugo Swire MP , friend of the Cameron’s although is is an also-ran. Landowners, true blues, Brexiteers. Her book is selections from her diaries from 2010 when Cameron formed a coalition government until 2019 when Boris Johnson won a landslide election.
She charts the machinations, plots and emotions of the main players during this time.
She is remorseless in her details of the wining and dining, the self-seeking vacillation, who said what to whom, the tedium and contempt for constituencies.
For anyone interested in politics, this is compulsive reading about an utterly nauseating group of people. She was at the heart of them, but must feel no loyalty to them whatsoever, and no fear of losing every friend.
She charts the machinations, plots and emotions of the main players during this time.
She is remorseless in her details of the wining and dining, the self-seeking vacillation, who said what to whom, the tedium and contempt for constituencies.
For anyone interested in politics, this is compulsive reading about an utterly nauseating group of people. She was at the heart of them, but must feel no loyalty to them whatsoever, and no fear of losing every friend.
August 26, 2021
Worth reading as really interesting to get inside Tory thinking in Cameron era, esp around Brexit. Was strikingly clear that no one thought about details….what it would mean, how it would work but just fling slogans around. Clearly decent Tories around, but many as peculiar as you suspected….Gove and May to name 2 of the strangest…. Good fun. Strangest sentence was when the author admitted to being in a low level depression because Thatcher died. That was vey jarring. ClearLyn had not spent much of her student years chanting Maggie Maggie Maggie, out out out!…. Valuable to try and understand how dyed in the wool Tories see the world….
January 12, 2021
Moved along at pace and gave an interesting insight into the lives of posh Tory politicos. Not my politics but fascinating fly on the wall account of the comings and goings of her and her MP husband. Reinforces just how shambolic both Cameron and May’s governments were and just how out of touch they are with the ‘real world’. Sort of Jilly Cooper meets Hansard! Enjoyed it.
August 26, 2021
Sasha Swire is a funny and captivating author. Provides insight into how a social group can end up running a country, the social workings of the conservative parliamentary party, the life of an MP. Most interesting is that Sasha Swire forfeited her career for her husbands yet was equally involved in his political decisions and it was a joint pursuit. Clearly Hugo Swire would not have been as successful without her political intelligence. The book also highlights how David Cameron’s government lacked the political vision of the most accomplished Post War Prime Ministers (think Atlee, Thatcher or Blair). Therefore supporting the accusation that Cameron wanted to be PM not because he had a great vision for Britain but merely because he thought he would be good at it.
June 9, 2024
An interesting biography from the wife of Tory MP Hugo Swire. The author is very honest, taking digs at her husband, her children, and pretty much 100% of the major players in Tory politics between 2010 and 2019. David Cameron in particular is supposedly a close friend of the author, but he does not come off well at all.
Read it to get hyped for the upcoming UK election. I don't think I particularly learned much, but it was interesting from a gossipy perspective if nothing else
Read it to get hyped for the upcoming UK election. I don't think I particularly learned much, but it was interesting from a gossipy perspective if nothing else
May 24, 2023
An eye-opening and interesting read, but certainly not ground-breaking. I don't believe I'd get on with Sasha Swire. At all.
February 18, 2021
My expectations were set at a very low level; and yet I was still left disappointed and frustrated.
The period covered will surely go down as the most momentous in the history of the UK of the last 70 years and yet very few insights or new angles are to be found. As not only the wife of an MP, but the daughter of a former cabinet minsiter, the author sets herself up as something of a political 'nerd'. But while she is undoubtedly highly opinionated, there is next to no analysis of the issues involved and how she has come to hold the positions that she clearly does. Of course, one would not buy this book for balance, but she makes no attempt to explain how she has come to hold the opinions she does. Instead, she resorts to tiresome name-calling (Remoaner and Remaniac feature prominently, the Labour leadership is dismissed as Marxist). It is difficult not to conclude that she does not feel she needs to explain - there is strong sense of entitlement, and with that an assumption that you should never apologise and never explain. Indeed, she gives every impression that it's all a "bit of a laugh" - something to pass the time before getting on with the proper business of making money and running the estates. The worst crime, so far as she is concerned, seems to be to take anything too seriously (there is much discussion of how much people drink, the clubs they belong to, the flirtations). And yet, even if you read this book not for its political analysis but for the tittle-tattle, you are likely to be disappointed. There are few if any revelations that have not been published elsewhere - and she reserves a right to silence on matters that a true diarist would surely have covered. (Perhaps it's one of the disadvantages of reading a diarist who is still alive; it's very difficult to escape the conclusion that there has been judicious editing and perhaps a certain amount of revisionism in the light of subsequent events - making her an unreliable narrator). And, if everything should be treated as lightly as possible, as she seems to wish, then it's difficult to understand why she holds certain people - including former close friends - in such great contempt (refusing to take their phone calls because of disagreements over policy positions). It was depressing to read how little regard she had for her own daughters' political positions - choosing instead to ridicule their idealism. So all in all, a mildly diverting read, but you learn nothing new.
The period covered will surely go down as the most momentous in the history of the UK of the last 70 years and yet very few insights or new angles are to be found. As not only the wife of an MP, but the daughter of a former cabinet minsiter, the author sets herself up as something of a political 'nerd'. But while she is undoubtedly highly opinionated, there is next to no analysis of the issues involved and how she has come to hold the positions that she clearly does. Of course, one would not buy this book for balance, but she makes no attempt to explain how she has come to hold the opinions she does. Instead, she resorts to tiresome name-calling (Remoaner and Remaniac feature prominently, the Labour leadership is dismissed as Marxist). It is difficult not to conclude that she does not feel she needs to explain - there is strong sense of entitlement, and with that an assumption that you should never apologise and never explain. Indeed, she gives every impression that it's all a "bit of a laugh" - something to pass the time before getting on with the proper business of making money and running the estates. The worst crime, so far as she is concerned, seems to be to take anything too seriously (there is much discussion of how much people drink, the clubs they belong to, the flirtations). And yet, even if you read this book not for its political analysis but for the tittle-tattle, you are likely to be disappointed. There are few if any revelations that have not been published elsewhere - and she reserves a right to silence on matters that a true diarist would surely have covered. (Perhaps it's one of the disadvantages of reading a diarist who is still alive; it's very difficult to escape the conclusion that there has been judicious editing and perhaps a certain amount of revisionism in the light of subsequent events - making her an unreliable narrator). And, if everything should be treated as lightly as possible, as she seems to wish, then it's difficult to understand why she holds certain people - including former close friends - in such great contempt (refusing to take their phone calls because of disagreements over policy positions). It was depressing to read how little regard she had for her own daughters' political positions - choosing instead to ridicule their idealism. So all in all, a mildly diverting read, but you learn nothing new.
March 30, 2021
Sasha Swire writes well and the diaries have been carefully edited. At times, the book is hilariously funny, at others lyrical in expressing a love for the English countryside. The final image of the tired old fox (a bundle of badness) representing the failure of Corbyn's Labour party in the 2019 General election is well-chosen, though it won't be to everybody's taste.
Unless you're a Conservative, this book won't be easy for the politically engaged. The writer's political astuteness is impressive (if she had taken to politics instead of her husband, she might have made a glittering career) and for the first two-thirds of the book, she seems quite detached from her subject matter, commenting wryly on Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader 'the Jewish lobby are going to throw the kitchen sink at this' and describing Dominic Cummings as an 'amoeba'. She comments that neoliberalism and globalism 'have had their day' and portrays Boris Johnson and his family as unbridled self-publicists. No-one is spared her acute and satirical eye. However, as her diaries wind down to a close, she seems to move right-wards, demanding respect for Donald Trump and extolling the merits of Boris Johnson, thought not without acknowledging his weaknesses. Somewhere in the course of the diaries, she morphs from remainer to leaver in the Brexit debate.
The diaries make compelling reading because they cover one of the most electrifying periods in British political history. Although she reports that 'British politics are tribal' she is encouraged by the the growing number of politicians who are emerging from non-traditional backgrounds. She writes from within a privileged cabal, whose lot is has been to to dominate our political agenda, but she reveals this small group of people as incestuous, cynical, even childish, though somehow more well-meaning than they are usually given credit for. I'm not sure that this was the intended message. She might have ended up sawing off the branch she's sitting on.
Unless you're a Conservative, this book won't be easy for the politically engaged. The writer's political astuteness is impressive (if she had taken to politics instead of her husband, she might have made a glittering career) and for the first two-thirds of the book, she seems quite detached from her subject matter, commenting wryly on Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader 'the Jewish lobby are going to throw the kitchen sink at this' and describing Dominic Cummings as an 'amoeba'. She comments that neoliberalism and globalism 'have had their day' and portrays Boris Johnson and his family as unbridled self-publicists. No-one is spared her acute and satirical eye. However, as her diaries wind down to a close, she seems to move right-wards, demanding respect for Donald Trump and extolling the merits of Boris Johnson, thought not without acknowledging his weaknesses. Somewhere in the course of the diaries, she morphs from remainer to leaver in the Brexit debate.
The diaries make compelling reading because they cover one of the most electrifying periods in British political history. Although she reports that 'British politics are tribal' she is encouraged by the the growing number of politicians who are emerging from non-traditional backgrounds. She writes from within a privileged cabal, whose lot is has been to to dominate our political agenda, but she reveals this small group of people as incestuous, cynical, even childish, though somehow more well-meaning than they are usually given credit for. I'm not sure that this was the intended message. She might have ended up sawing off the branch she's sitting on.
February 7, 2021
Much better than expected! A humerous account of a fabulously interesting time in politics and the Conservative party, by the wife of a minor politician. Unlike a lot of the reviews, the Swires are clearly very close to the Cameron guard, and as such can share some genuinely thoughtful insights and interesting anecdotes of that subset of our political class.
Funnily enough- when asked “who comes out worst” in this political diary, the answer is no one, because Swire comes across so needy (particularly in the first part of the book) that anyone she objects to instantly seems to wear a halo! She has clearly gone back through her diaries to insert lines to suggest that she is so politically sharp she has predicted the future... notes on Kier Starmer and Prince Andrew for example. She also believes her opinions and advice are fundamental in shaping the establishment, often crowing of how marvellously clever everyone thinks she is. As you can tell, both of these devices have the opposite effect for the reader....
However, the diaries get better and better as they go on, particularly as Hugo gets to the end of his political career. The MP appears a decidedly nice guy, and the book is stuffed full of funny anecdotes about his gaffes and those of others.
If you disregard the self congratulatory tone of this books author- it’s a really fun read. I would recommend.
Funnily enough- when asked “who comes out worst” in this political diary, the answer is no one, because Swire comes across so needy (particularly in the first part of the book) that anyone she objects to instantly seems to wear a halo! She has clearly gone back through her diaries to insert lines to suggest that she is so politically sharp she has predicted the future... notes on Kier Starmer and Prince Andrew for example. She also believes her opinions and advice are fundamental in shaping the establishment, often crowing of how marvellously clever everyone thinks she is. As you can tell, both of these devices have the opposite effect for the reader....
However, the diaries get better and better as they go on, particularly as Hugo gets to the end of his political career. The MP appears a decidedly nice guy, and the book is stuffed full of funny anecdotes about his gaffes and those of others.
If you disregard the self congratulatory tone of this books author- it’s a really fun read. I would recommend.
October 28, 2020
Well ... I enjoyed this. The writer’s political ideas are not mine and perhaps (as she argued) as mps’ wives are supposed to be quiet - the ideas were a bit untested. The grotty bits about Cameron didn’t surprise me so much, but the descriptions of life in NI were fascinating. there are also some wonderful passages of descriptions- the cabinet ministers’ cars as they arrived at a meeting , for example, and some descriptions of the countryside and changing seasons. Worth it for those.
January 26, 2021
Awful...not sure why I bothered to trawl through this other than I lived in hope that there would be some interesting insights revealed into the UK’s recent political shenanigans ... but sadly not! Instead ... lots of navel gazing and bigging herself and her husband up. Sadly lacking in any revelations on what has been an incredibly important and interesting time in the UK’s political history. What a letdown... don’t waste your time.
January 23, 2021
this book needed a good editor. If it was two hundred pages long it would have been much more entertaining. Needed to cut out a lot of her ranting about her personal bugbears. If she set out to have done a hatchet job, then the person who comes across the worst is herself , Vicious and vacuous.
November 2, 2020
The ranting and ravings of an over-privileged, acidulous and despiteous woman who is who she is purely by an accident of birth.
November 8, 2020
Utterly ghastly. Yet bizarrely fascinating. With her for a friend, who'd ever need an enemy?
August 8, 2022
This is one of those books that you want to give two ratings - one high and one low.
If you come into this expecting or wanting a mildly-scandalous fluffy chat, then you won't be disappointed. You will be reaching for the 4s or 5s. It's like having a naughty friend who drinks too much and gets very indiscrete when there's enough fizz in the tank. Or going into the dentist's waiting room and reading one of those scandal-sheet goss magazines that you wouldn't pay for.
Sasha is a reasonably good writer exception where she lapses into purple prose. It's fun to hear behind-closed-doors gossip about people we had seen on television.
It all feels very decadent. So much so that I started thinking it was a spoof. Surely this was written by someone pretending to be a Tory. No-one could really be like that in real life, can they?
Then you notice the things that are missing. There is very little sense of politicians serving the public. Of policies that are meant to do some good. Of any politician actually achieving anything other than promotion or media fame. This is politics as a series of parties, bitching and shopping.
The tone is at times puerile. A political enemy called Claire Wright is repeatedly called Claire Wrong. Wow. I wonder how long it took to think of that one? Remainers are that old chestnut "remoaners". Yes, really.
Speaking of Brexit, she has an instinctive anti-European stance but can't explain why Brexit is a good thing or why she doesn't listen to her "remoaner" friends.
So the marks stand at 4 for the fluff and 2 for the politics. Let's call it an average of 3 between friends. This book is political fluff - the drawback is that it does the fluff much better than the politics.
Incidentally, the diary ends with Boris Johnson winning his 2019 election victory and Sasha gushing about how wonderful he is. It's easy to be wise in hindsight, but fast forward to 2022 and we have partygate and Boris forced to resign because of his repeated dishonesty.
Recommended for the fluff. Not recommended for the politics.
If you come into this expecting or wanting a mildly-scandalous fluffy chat, then you won't be disappointed. You will be reaching for the 4s or 5s. It's like having a naughty friend who drinks too much and gets very indiscrete when there's enough fizz in the tank. Or going into the dentist's waiting room and reading one of those scandal-sheet goss magazines that you wouldn't pay for.
Sasha is a reasonably good writer exception where she lapses into purple prose. It's fun to hear behind-closed-doors gossip about people we had seen on television.
It all feels very decadent. So much so that I started thinking it was a spoof. Surely this was written by someone pretending to be a Tory. No-one could really be like that in real life, can they?
Then you notice the things that are missing. There is very little sense of politicians serving the public. Of policies that are meant to do some good. Of any politician actually achieving anything other than promotion or media fame. This is politics as a series of parties, bitching and shopping.
The tone is at times puerile. A political enemy called Claire Wright is repeatedly called Claire Wrong. Wow. I wonder how long it took to think of that one? Remainers are that old chestnut "remoaners". Yes, really.
Speaking of Brexit, she has an instinctive anti-European stance but can't explain why Brexit is a good thing or why she doesn't listen to her "remoaner" friends.
So the marks stand at 4 for the fluff and 2 for the politics. Let's call it an average of 3 between friends. This book is political fluff - the drawback is that it does the fluff much better than the politics.
Incidentally, the diary ends with Boris Johnson winning his 2019 election victory and Sasha gushing about how wonderful he is. It's easy to be wise in hindsight, but fast forward to 2022 and we have partygate and Boris forced to resign because of his repeated dishonesty.
Recommended for the fluff. Not recommended for the politics.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews