Diary of an MP's Wife

They're the wickedest political diaries since Alan Clark's * Daily Mail * A gossipy, amusing, opinionated account of what it's like to be married to an MP . . . Good fun and eye-opening * The Times * Riotously candid -- Decca Aitkenhead * Sunday Times * Gloriously indiscreet * Daily Mail * A glorious, compelling, jaw-dropping read * Evening Standard * Ten years ago, reviewing Alastair Campbell's diaries for the Spectator, I concluded as follows: Who will be the chroniclers of the Cameron government? Somewhere, unknown to his or her colleagues, a secret scribbler will already be at work, documenting the rise and, in due course, no doubt, the fall of this administration Well, here it is. The diary covers not only the rise and fall of the Cameroons, but also the shenanigans surrounding Brexit and the inexorable rise of Boris, concluding at the end of last year when Sir Hugo (as he was by then) left parliament.No holds are barred. Sasha is candid, irreverent, occasionally outrageous and sometimes hilarious -- Chris Mullin * Spectator * Imagine the Alan Clark diaries, but written by his wife Jane instead: all the high-octane political gossip, set against a backdrop of country house shooting weekends and boozy dinners at Chequers, but seen through the sceptical eyes of a woman one step removed from all the head-butting stags. But there's far more to this book than reheated pillow talk. There is an acute political intelligence at work, of the sort that makes one wonder what might have been had Swire not settled for experiencing politics vicariously through her husband -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian * Westminster diaries are judged on three levels: the details they leak, the political era they re-create and the central character of the author. Swire scores highly on all three. She is funnier and ballsier than Chris Mullin and if she falls short of Alan Clark it is only because he was so devilish -- Quentin Letts * The Times * It would be a mistake to dismiss these diaries as just another exercise in score-settling in the freak show called Westminster, enabling the British public to engage in one of its favourite pastimes, namely loathing and belittling the political class. Lady Swire, wife of Sir Hugo Swire, former MP for East Devon and from 2010 to 2016 a Minister of State in the Northern Ireland Office and Foreign Office, is a cut above that. She actually has literary ability, a quality that manifests itself in the colour with which she describes the show and the freaks within it . . . there have been no political diaries to match the insightfulness and style of these since Alan Clark's and, like his, they will become an essential point of reference for those who wish to understand the politics of the age they describe -- Simon Heffer * Telegraph * Swire's uncharitable musings have demonstrated that the disloyalist's diary still has the power to inflict acute embarrassment, long after the events -- Ben MacIntyre * The Times * As tell-all diaries go, they don't get more riveting than Lady Swire's juicy tales -- Alice Fuller * Sun * Diary of an MP's Wife [is] both compelling and shrewd. The pesky MP's wife may have a better sense of public taste than all the players strutting on the political stage. I can't wait for the next swathe of Swire diaries and the film rights for these ones -- Sarah Sands * Oldie * Smirking at the juiciest revelations in the publishing sensation of the year. Relish these stories for they may be the last laughs we get in a while * Scotsman * This gossipy, opinionated and frequently hilarious book could be the most entertaining political diary since Alan Clark's -- Charlotte Heathcote * Sunday Express * Lady Swire has a keen eye for detail and a waspish turn of phrase, which makes this a real page-turner. Lady Swire deservedly takes her place alongside Alan Clark, Chips Channon and Julian Critchley' -- Lord Vaizey of Didcot Right now, I'm reading a gossipy book; it's a diary of a British MP's wife, Sasha Swire. Normally when I'm buying a book like that I buy it on Kindle because then nobody can see what I'm reading! But it wasn't available, so I actually ordered it by mail and I'm happy I did that -- Kim Campbell, Prime Minister of Canada She is not a high-society bird-brain but an acute and intelligent observer - and very funny. An invaluable source for future historians of Britain -- Margaret MacMillan * New Statesman * The most gossipy and mischievous diarist since Alan Clark begins her account in 2010 when her husband, Hugo, is appointed minister of state in the Northern Ireland office, and is so excited that he insists on being called minister at home * Sunday Times * The small clique of people at the top are also exposed with waspish irreverence by Sasha Swire in Diary of an MP's Wife. Lady Swire may be a social pariah in Notting Hill and Chipping Norton right now but will, I suspect, like Alan Clark before her, be remembered for her indiscretions long after most of the current cabinet * Telegraph * A funny, indiscreet and dangerously honest account of the Cameron-May years * The Times * This wildly indiscreet tale of life inside David Cameron's inner circle - Swire's husband, Hugo, was a Tory minister and the two couples were on intimate terms - involves a lot of faintly insufferable kitchen suppers in Notting Hill. But it's as much fun to pick through as a box of Quality Street, and beneath the gossipy surface lies a razor-sharp analysis of the Cameroons' descent from their gilded heyday to being eaten alive by Brexit * Guardian * Diary of an MP's Wife is an irresistible, informal history and a rare tell-all about what it's really like to live behind the headlines of British political life. No one sees more than an observant wife and Sasha Swire's beady eye makes her a natural reporter! Her sharp vignettes and tart sense of humor make for compulsive reading. I do hope she keeps going! -- Tina Brown