Bookbenchers: Alistair Darling MP

This week’s Bookbencher is Alistair Darling, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South West and the former Chancellor of the Exchequer. His memoir, Back from the Brink, is available in paperback in April.

1) Which book’s on your bedside table at the moment?

Lloyd George by Roy Hattersley.

2) Which book would you read to your children?

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee.

3) Which literary character would you most like to be?

Sherlock Holmes.

4) Which book do you think best sums up ‘now’?

Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics by Nicholas Wapshott.

5) What was the last novel you read?

The Blackhouse
by Peter May.

6) Which book would you most recommend?

Charles Dickens: A Life by Clare Tomalin.

7) Given enough time, which book would you like to study deeply?

Walter Bagehot, Lombard Street.

8) Which books do you plan to read next?

The