Few political memoirs have caused quite the stir that Mo Mowlam's
Momentum has, and it's not hard to see why. When most accounts of Cabinet ministers' time in office are so desperately anodyne (Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet were famously close-mouthed and unrevealing in their autobiographies--and all quickly sank without trace), Mowlam's book is a work of remarkable passion and frankness. And, more to the point, Mowlam pulls no punches about her turbulent time in Tony Blair's government. It's all here: the clashes, the whispering campaigns, and, yes, the commitment and enthusiasm that have won Mowlam so many admirers.
It's a rare British politician who is as popular with the British public as Mo Mowlam. As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the first Labour parliament under Tony Blair, she advanced the peace process towards the Good Friday Agreement unlike few of her predecessors--until she was unceremoniously shifted to a low-key role in the Cabinet office, amid accusations (from Unionists and fellow ministers) that she'd become "too close" to Sinn Fein (Mowlam's blistering passages on these events make for riveting reading).
Her personal demeanour always seemed the antithesis of the duplicity of most politicians (of both the Left and Right) and won her a reputation for unflinching honesty--a quality all too evident here (although it has to be said that many politicians--and not just the enemies identified in this book--have accused her of sour grapes, and have pointed out that the "Saint Mo" image is not the whole truth). But as Momentum makes clear, Mowlam is too clear-sighted a politician to see herself as a saint (her sense of the ridiculous would quickly torpedo such an idea), and while her attacks here on ex-colleagues whom she considered undermined her career are anger filled, they still retain a dispassionate quality that makes for more than simple score-settling. This is a book that may make uncomfortable reading for the government; for the rest of us, it's a wonderfully candid and revealing memoir. --Barry Forshaw
Few contemporary pols have captured the hearts of the British public in the way Mo Mowlam has. Her role in Northern Ireland in Blair's first parliament was widely praised, and her ability to go into prisons and share a ciggie with men reviled by the British establishment drew sharp criticism yet helped immeasurably toward the Good Friday Agreement. For Mo's style was light years away from that of every other politician who'd ever been sent to the Province and who regarded it as a political Siberia: she actually wanted the job - which made her removal from it all the more unjust. Her account of her years in government, during which she battled with her health, is a refreshingly candid portrait of British politics told with warmth and humour by a woman content merely to be honest rather than grind axes.
Synopsis
In this text Mo Mowlam tells the story of her time in government in her own words. She writes about the months leading up to the 1997 General Election, Labour's landslide victory and what had gone on as she underwent treatment for a brain tumour while working towards that victory. She tells the inside story of her time as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The characters and chemistry of this time are analyzed with candour, warmth and humour that are Mo Mowlam's trademarks. After the Good Friday Agreement, Mo Mowlam was, somewhat controversially, moved to the Cabinet Office. Before the second landslide victory of 2001, Mo Mowlam decided to leave Westminister politics - this text tells readers why, and also tells of her hopes and plans for the future.
About the Author
Mo Mowlam was born in 1949 and educated at Coundon Court Comprehensive School, Coventry and the Universities of Durham and Iowa. She taught in America at the Universities of Wisconsin and Florida, before returning to teach at the Newcastle University and to join the staff of the Northern College, Barnsley. She became an MP in 1987, member of the Shadow Cabinet in 1992 and Northern Ireland Secretary in 1997. She resigned as Cabinet Office Minister and MP in 2001. She lives in Redcar and London with her husband, Jon Norton.
