Oona King - 'House Music'
What is 'House Music' about?
It's about my ten years in the House of Commons; two years as an assistant, and eight years as an MP. Its' about what the House of Commons is about. It's also about just normal life, but it's not a hundred percent politics. In fact, people that are tightly obsessed with politics might be a bit disappointed when they read it, because it's really a sort of rich tapestry, and all of that. It's about how you survive, if you can, in the House of Commons.
Why did you write it?
I wrote it because it was my diary. I have always kept a diary from when I was 11. My mum gave me a diary when I was 11, but I'm not one of those people that writes a diary every night. In fact, there are times when I haven't written in it for months and months at a time. It's not meant to be a daily diary. Rather, it's a snapshot of what life was like at the House of Commons.
Do you miss Parliament?
I miss certain things about Parliament a lot. I miss the fact that it's a brilliant place for debate. It's where Britain debates what we do in our life, in our country, and for the future. But I don't miss it enough to go back there, because there are so many other things that come with being a member of Parliament that I wouldn't want to go back to. The mental hours that you work. The crazy environment, as well. So I do miss it, but, as I said, not enough to go back.
Would you go back to Parliament if a constituency was offered?
Not at the moment. Absolutely not. For me, personally, right now, I can't imagine ever going back. But if there's one thing you learn in politics, it's never say never, and a safe seat. Well, I was asked to stand in, and I've been asked to stand in a couple of safe seats very recently and I said no. I didn't put my name forward for the selections. A lot of people think, "Oh, she's an MP. She's a politician". Well, I'm obviously not an MP but I'm "a politician. She can't resist it. She'll have to go back." And it's not true.
If you were Prime Minister for the day what would you change?
Do you hold any grudges about the way you left Parliament?
Would you do anything differently?
Do you now regret voting for the Iraq war?
I definitely regret voting for the Iraq war. I don't regret thinking it was absolutely right getting rid of a genocidal murderer when the opportunity arose The problem is if you're doing it with the most powerful country in the world who doesn't actually, it turns out, have any clue about how you rebuild a country then you're destined not just for failure, but for ongoing catastrophe of a level that is quite unimaginable. Yes I do regret it. What I regret most really though is that during that time in 2003 the fate of the world rested on the whims of madmen. You know, George Bush on the one hand and Saddam Hussein on the other. You know Jenna said to me recently, but how can you oppose George W. Bush, I mean obviously anyone with a brain would oppose George W. Bush, and yet support going to war in Iraq. And to me that's a really strange question cause i could turn that around and say how could you oppose Saddam Hussein and yet not want to go to war in Iraq. It wasn't a win-win situation though, because leaving Saddam Hussein in power meant he would carry on doing what he had done. And one of the really strong reasons that I wanted to vote to get rid of Saddam Hussein was that the United Nations said he had manipulated the oil-for-food program, the Un oil-for-food program, and that his actions resulted in the deaths of half a million Iraqi children. So I just think on both sides of the argument people have to remember leaving Iraq alone, being pro-peace, does actually mean saying okay, well let those half a million children die. We'll let the Iraqi's die. Nonetheless, looking at the situation now it was wrong. The way the war was prosecuted was absolutely wrong. So, although I think it was right to get rid of Saddam Hussein, it was done in a way that was so wrong nothing can make right that wrong.
