An Accidental MP

by Martin Bell

After the most unusual and quixotic campaign of recent memory, Martin Bell was elected to Parliament by a landslide as an Independent - a species thought to have been extinct since 1950.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Politics

247 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2000

About the author

Martin Bell is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tatton from 1997 to 2001. He is sometimes known as "the man in the white suit".

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this book second hand from a charity shop, I remembered the basic story about ex-BBC war correspondent Martin Bell becoming the MP and specifically to dethrone incumbent MP Neil Hamilton who was at the time accused of corruption.
The opening chapters, about Bell’s dissatisfaction with television news in general and the BBC in particular, as well as the campaign and him becoming an MP, are very interesting. After that mos5 chapters failed to hold my attention to the same degree, with the possible exception of the one about Major Mills Stankovic, which was so intersting I have bought his book.
The other thing is that, reading the book so many years after the event (Bell served as MP for one term, 1997-2001) it actually feels incomplete. It was written during his term, and there is a side of me that feels it would have read better if it has ended with him stepping down and leaving parliament at the end of his term.
Buts it’s engagingly written, has some enjoyable numerous moments and is a bit of an eye opener on how democratic our democracy actually is.

[Jeanius · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book after Martin Bell stood as an independent and became our MP in the Tatton constituency in the most exciting election I have known (up to now!) He won a landslide victory to much jubilation in this area and became an extremely popular and accessible MP. There was great disappointment when he promised that he would only serve one term and stuck to his promise at the next election - as a consequence we got George Osborne! This book is an account of his campaign and the fascinating years in Parliament that followed.

[Peter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this as I wanted to find out more about the Hamilton affair, and this I did though not to any great degree. was a bit of a durge to read, I kept coming back to it mainly because I hate to leave a book unfinished.

He makes some good points about Politics getting lost, but overall felt like it was padded out.

[G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Martin Bell tells the story of his disillusion with the BBC, his campaign to win Tatton and his life in the Commons. This is not my usual genre but was an easy listen.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to read of his battle with the Hamilton's

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good perspective to hear and it is well written