Austin Mitchell is a politicalmaverick. For thirty-eight years he was a fly in the parliamentary ointment, arecurring itch on the body politic.

A maverick may annoy the whips,threaten party discipline and challenge the solemnities of Parliament. Troublemakersthey may well be, but the Commons would certainly be a duller place withoutthem.

However Mitchell's dissidencewasn't all bitterness without volume control. Rattling the cage, swimming againstthe tide, pursuing honourable causes and, of course, fighting for hisconstituency, Grimsby, proved a rewarding career in itself. Confessionsof a Political Maverick succeeds in uncovering the realities behind thepretentious parliamentary facade of tradition and the stuffy complacency ofBritain's failing political class.

Dissenting from the peculiar andhighly particular conformity of career politicians dedicated to climbing the greasypole can be a lonely role, but it can also be fun. It certainly was for Austin Mitchell.