Gain House Of Fun: 20 Glorious Years In Parliament Created By Simon Hoggart Rendered As Print

enjoyable read and a reminder of times and politicians both past and in some cases also forgotten,

The recent death of Simon Hoggart was sad, depriving us of such witty and humourous writing as this book provides.


This is a summary, a digest ofyears of commons sketch writing and covers the period from John Majors government right through the rise and fall of Tony Blair as PM, the entry into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that look more and more unbelievable as time moves on, the awkward and troubled premiership of Gordon Brown during the period that economic comfort was turned upside down and right upto date with the coalition government and its machinations.


A very good book to dip into and remember, amusing and witty and very sharp, The late Simon Hoggart was one of the best Parliamentary Sketch writers, His work for the Observer and the Guardian was was always incisive and funny, That said, this collection is perhaps not the ideal representation of his work, Although this book dates back to the Blair/Brown/Cameron era it nevertheless is a fun and amusing read.
The author is second to none in turning a boring day in the house of Commons into fun and there are many amusing anecdotes and insights.

I always find it interesting in rereading political books a decade old or so, for insights into up and coming politicians, often much less guarded as junior members of parliament into their antics and foibles.
This is a rich mine of such information, Jeremy Hunt, David Davis and others, Also its interesting to note how prescient or otherwise the author is on predicting future developments how about this from"few think that Scottish Independence is at all possible,.
. . but the signs are all there, . !
A good read for politics buffs of a certain age, like me, The Guardians political sketchwriter for two decades, this collection of selected Hoggart pieces fromtois great fun, With dozens of articles skewering Britains leading politicians in inventively lyrical ways, Hoggarts work is usually both entertaining and informative.


True, some of these pieces should never have been included because theyre downright dull, or too fanciful but overall, its a strong collection.
Helpfully, most of them have an introductory line or two setting them neatly in context a great help when there are so many of them over such a long period.
There's also an extensive index, which again, is more than welcome,

Reading the Kindle edition, I found myself highlighting a massive number of quotes and passages, either because they made me laugh, or because they so wellcrafted, or because they just felt right.
Theres a small OK, theres quite a few of em lightly edited sample below, Chances are, if you like these, this will be a book worth buying,

“If I were Mr Tony Blair, I would stop waving my arms around in an illustrative way.
He is not presenting Blue Peter, ”

From theLabour Party conference “ there were the lines of suits, the smart womens outfits, the prosperous middle class of Britain who are now in the happy position of having both main parties dedicated to their continuing welfare.
”

On new Tory leader William Hague in“If hes so young, why does he sound like an elderly house master in a minor public school”

In, he wrote about Lord Chancellor, Derry Irvine and his expensively decorated apartment at the House of Lords, paid for by the taxpayer “ as pompous as it is possible for a man to be without actually bursting Irvine said you are not talking about something down at the DIY store, though to our delight

it turned out that he had never even heard of B amp Q.
”

From theTory Party conference “John Redwood made his annual rabblesoothing speech, It must be hard to fail at a Tory conference by making an attack on Peter Mandelson, but the shadow trade secretary managed it.
”

On John Prescott handling PMQs for the absent Blair in“It was terrible, It was also ghastly, chaotic, miserable and floorstaringly, mouthpuckeringly, gazeavertingly awful, In any civilised country a trained SAS squad would have abseiled down the Chamber walls, tossing smoke bombs, grabbing Mr Prescott and hustling him to safety.
”

“ the Daily Mail, the newspaper for old women of both sexes, ”

In, describing Iain Duncan Smiths disastrous leadership of his party “Many Tories recalled with something less than fondness thetimes IDS voted against the John Major government, or was it.
. . one unnamed MP said “That bastard was the most disloyal bastard of all the disloyal bastards John Major had to cope with.
And do you know why Because hes a bastard!”

In, when Michael Howard replaced Duncan Smith “There he was, along with Norman Lamont, a reminder of why people voted against them inand why they will take the earliest possible chance to vote against them again.
”

Again, on the peculiar Howard “He speaks English as if it were a second language, taught by patient specialists so that even lawyers can understand.
”

On Tory leadership contender David Cameron, at theconference “He has learned Ronald Reagans trick of being dementedly optimistic they even loved him when he started raving, like a malaria victim who is at the point where he may live or die.
Let us dream a new generation of Conservative dreams! he said, which may be the most meaningless statement uttered at this conference so far.
”

On Camerons first PMQs appearance as leader of the opposition “Prime ministers questions is a horrible experience for anyone who might be described as a human being.
Mr Cameron had one big advantage: most of his own side were actually on his side, For Tory leaders that is an unexpected help, ”

In, Gordon Brown, as the only candidate, was preparing to become Labour leader”Gordon Brown began his campaign in London yesterday.
It will be a lonely business travelling around the country asking people not to vote for anyone else, since there is no one else.
But he is a truculent chap and can easily pick a fight with himself, ”

In, on Nick Clegg “The deputy prime minister often gives the impression of a supply teacher out of his depth in a sink school.
”
Simon Hoggart's death robbed us of one of the funniest journalists writing in Britain, His parliamentary sketches were without doubt the funniest of that genre, This is his last collection, Most have been published before but worth rereading, It makes me wish the Guardian would go back and publish his earlier sketches, He is sadly missed. very humorous and insightful House of Fun is a bumper collection of Simon Hoggart's finest and funniest sketches written since he took up the poisoned quill twenty years ago.
It is instant history with added jokes,





Read about how John Major learned the English language from his time in Nigeria.
There is Tony Blair, with his verbfree sentences which imply everything and promise nothing, Gordon Brown, the grumpiest prime minister of recent years, both Stalin and Mr Bean, And now David Cameron who really, really hates being drawn with a condom on his head,





Let's not forget John Prescott, who can wrestle the English language to the mat and win by two falls to a submission, Michael Fabricant with his hairpiece stolen from the tail of a My Little Pony, Sir Peter Tapsell, a grandee so grand that when he rises to speak, Hansard writers are replaced by a crack team of monks to write up his words in illuminated lettering.
Nick Clegg, with his default expression of a man's whose chldren's puppy is still missing, And of course, the famouspress conference in the garden of Downing Street, a lovein that would have been illegal inAmerican states.






This book will have you laughing, chuckling, roaring, sniggering, and sometimes despairing, .