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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Decline and Fall: Diaries 2005 to 2010
|sort=Decline and Fall: Diaries 2005 to 2010
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Politics and Society
|summary=Excerpts from the Mullins Mullin Diaries for from 2005 chart through to the end of the author's time in parliament Parliament and the implosion of the New Labour administration. Highly recommended.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=416
|publisher=Profile Books Ltd
|date=August 2010
|isbn=978-1846683992
|amazonukcover=<amazonuk>1846683998</amazonuk>1846684005|aznuk=1846684005|amazonusaznus=<amazonus>1846683998</amazonus>
}}
The diaries cover the period from 2005 to when Chris left Parliament for the final time in 2010. Through Chris's eyes we see the departure of Tony Blair and the coronation of Gordon Brown, the winning of the 2012 Olympics, the London bombings, the global financial crisis and the 'Great Expenses Meltdown'. You might well think that there's not much more to be said on any of these topics but the more measured and thoughtful approach in ''Decline and Fall'' gives a new perspective.
Perhaps the most striking point is that an administration which seemed to make much use of the spin doctor failed to make any capital at all out of the fact that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were the people who pulled the global financial system back from the brink of collapse. It's no secret in other countries but doesn't seem to be considered in the UK and there's a hope Chris hopes that history will treat Brown more kindly than the voters have done. Here Brown is ''blamed'' for the financial crisis. The Conservatives make much of the debts that have been left to them – failing to mention that the cause of the problem were the city bankers.
On the expenses scandal you might have expected some triumphalism given that Chris was one of the saints of the episode and famous for his black and white television, but there's no blame, no malice and even sympathy for those caught up in the scandal. Having no need to worry for his own back he looks more to getting a system which will bring in public respect and he feels that one way to begin that process is to stop having a summer break which lasts for the best part of three months. Regrettably not too many of his fellow MPs thought the same way.
Most fascinating of all was the fact that everyone seemed to be well aware of Gordon Brown's shortcomings well before he took over the reins, but they still managed to carry him into power unopposed whilst predicting the problems ahead.
Chris has the knack of explaining the background in such a way that the layman can understand the what and the why. He's never patronising and lacks the urge of many politicians to prove that they're better than the common man. Reading the diaries you have a real feeling of being in the House of Commons, in his Sunderland constituency or with his family: there's a real sense of time and place.
I found it a refreshing read as Chris judges people by their actions and not the colour of their politics. He can be quite scathing about Labour politicians who fall short in his judgement but equally generous to politicians of other parties who act well. There's a complete lack of malice or the unedifying sound of axes being ground.
It's a very easy read, but not light-weight by any means. I read the book over the course of two glorious days (granted, I did very little else) but even knowing what was going to happen I still had to keep reading. The style is self-deprecating and engaging; in places it's laugh-out-loud funny from the sublime of Chris's interactions with his daughters to the ridiculousness of some of the reporting tin in the tabloids and the broadsheets. The book is highly recommended.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
If you haven't read [[A View from the Foothills by Chris Mullin|A View from the Foothills]] then you really should. If you'd like to know more about the expenses scandal then you might like to try [[No Expenses Spared by Robert Winnett and Gordon Rayner]] but be warned that the tone and approach are very different. For another political diary from an earlier period – this time the Callaghan years – have a look at [[Downing Street Diary: Volume Two by Bernard Donoughue]], although you wont won't find that book such an easy read. For some fiction by Chris Mullin try [[A Very British Coup by Chris Mullin|A Very British Coup]].
{{toptentext|list=Bookbag's Christmas Gift Recommendations 2010}} {{amazontext|amazon=18466839981846684005}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=74626011846683998}}
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{{comment
|name= Peter
|verb= said
|comment=Can't wait to read this book - it sounds like a real treat in store for the the many who enjoyed the first volume of Chris Mullin's diaries!
}}
