After Blair, Labour MPs opt for 'God Delusion'

Where last year a fluffy thriller would do, this summer seems to have been set aside for serious reading by holiday-going MPs. A survey of the books they have packed in their travel bags suggests that they are more interested in the abolition of the slave trade or whether God exists, than in lighter subjects such as the adventures of teenage wizards.

In the annual survey of MPs' holiday reading, released today by the bookshop chain Waterstone's, first place was taken by William Hague's biography of William Wilberforce, which was published to coincide with the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. It came well ahead of books that received more hype at the time of publication, such as the latest Harry Potter fantasy, or the diaries of Alastair Campbell.

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It is perhaps not surprising that Mr Hague should be the top seller among Conservative MPs, but what is less predictable is that the survey showed the same book to be the Liberal Democrat's top summer read.

A new mood of religious scepticism seems to have taken hold of Labour MPs, who have made The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins, their main choice. This follows the loss of Tony Blair, who looked to God as the ultimate judge of whether it was right to invade Iraq.

By contrast, Tom Bower's biography of Gordon Brown scarcely made it on to the list of books being read by Labour MPs, whereas on the Conservative list, it came third, behind a biography of Robert Peel by the former foreign secretary, Douglas Hurd, as if the Tories are spending their holiday period getting to know their main enemy.

Labour and Conservative MPs seem to have been unaffected by the hype around the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J K Rowling. It may be the fastest-selling book of all time, but on the MPs' summer list it ranks a mere third equal, alongside Tom Bower's book - and that is only because of its popularity with Liberal Democrats. It might be supposed that this has something to do with the resemblance between the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Menzies Campbell, and Dumbledore - except that Dumbledore is dead, whereas to say the same of Sir Menzies would be to over-interpret what the opinion polls are telling us.

There is another slightly unbelievable and over-hyped book on the list about a young hero confronting the forces of evil, helped by loyal friends. The Blair Years, by Alastair Campbell, made third place on the Labour list, but hardly featured with non-Labour MPs.

The only author to get three titles on to the list was the former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown (Lord Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon) for his diaries and two books on resolving conflict, based on his experience in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The only other writer to have more than one on the list was Ian McEwan.

"One surprising thing about this list is its seriousness," said Jon Howells, a Waterstone's spokesman. "Last year, the top-read book was The Da Vinci Code. This year, there is very little light reading on the list - no chick lit, and few thrillers ... Maybe there's a new air of seriousness in the country."

Another possibility, a cynic might say, is that the MPs lied to researchers, and have actually packed their bags with light rubbish. Mr Howells was reluctant to allow that possibility.

"If you can't trust an MP to tell the truth about what they are reading in the summer then what can you trust them on?" he said. "This was a properly conducted survey and you have to take these people at their word. Well, yes, maybe a few are telling fibs and they're really reading Harry Potter."

Top five books in the Commons

* William Wilberforce: The Life of the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner by William Hague

* The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling

* Gordon Brown by Tom Bower

* The Blair Years by Alastair Campbell