by Vikram Khanna

TO EXPECT total candour or balance from the published memoirs of a former first lady is probably asking too much. Thus, in Cherie Blair's new book, Speaking for Myself, you will read little about, for instance, some of the whopping blunders committed by Tony Blair during his 10 years (1997-2007) as Britain's prime minister - most conspicuously, his decision to join the US invasion of Iraq - and rather a lot about his successes, like making the Labour Party electable after almost two decades in the political wilderness, his attractive personal qualities and his rousing speeches.

For all that, this gossipy book has some startlingly - and sometimes gratuitously - candid moments: like the Blairs' choice of contraception, the conception of their youngest child in Balmoral, the royal holiday hangout in Scotland ('as usual, up there, it had been bitterly cold, and what with one thing and another . . .'); and Mrs Blair's relationships with various boyfriends during her youth.

She also has some engaging observations about people and events. US President George W Bush is 'actually a very funny, charming man with a quirky sense of humour'. Former president Bill Clinton is 'an incredibly sociable person who likes ideas and loves talking', but was 'a bloody idiot' for having an affair with the young White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.

Although Hillary Clinton 'was not a touchy-feely type of person, she was much warmer than her public persona would suggest'. Ex-Russian president Vladimir Putin was 'not a man you would want to cross . . . you felt that the former KGB chief was still there, under the surface'. And ex-French president Jacques Chirac she recalls as 'sweeping presidentially through the hall, not staying to mingle, there just to be seen, as if to say he was doing them a favour by simply turning up' - this during the Singapore meeting of the delegates of the International Olympic Committee in July 2005, when London won the vote to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

The picture that emerges of Tony Blair (of a charming, approachable, determined, oratorically gifted and dogged politician) rings true, and this book gives some interesting behind- the-scenes glimpses of his rise to the top. He would give lectures at trade union conferences (where Mrs Blair would sing Liverpool songs) and write articles to make himself known. He fought and lost an election in 1982, swept away by the pro-Thatcher wave in the wake of the Falklands war. But he never gave up. A major turning point came when he succeeded in scrapping the archaic Clause IV of the Labour Party constitution, which endorsed 'the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange' - and that marked the beginning of the 'New Labour' centrism which eventually got him elected as prime minister.

Mrs Blair says that she chose him as her husband because, among other reasons, 'behind the charm there was a steely quality to him' and he was 'somebody who could give me a run for my money'.

Emphatically not a sit-at-home wife, she herself had high political and professional ambitions. She tried (but failed) to get elected to Parliament, and kept up her career as a lawyer and judge even after moving into 10 Downing Street - the only British prime ministerial spouse in recent memory to do so.

She makes no bones about her 'go-for-it' attitude to life. 'Another thing Tony and I have in common is ambition,' she declares. And, 'I have always believed that if an opportunity comes along, you should grab it'.

While in America, such go-getting feistiness may be admired; in Britain, it is more likely to be viewed with some distaste, especially when it comes from a prime ministerial spouse. Her perceived crassness was perhaps one reason why Mrs Blair's relationship with the British media was nothing short of dreadful - mutually hate-hate, right to her last day at No 10, when she shouted out to the waiting reporters and photographers while leaving: 'I won't miss you!'

She was often photographed at awkward moments (once in her houserobe with her hair in a mess), her every gaffe was faithfully reported (and sometimes even invented), and the slightest scandal involving her - and there were a few - was magnified manyfold.

In a telephone conversation with Mrs Blair recently, I asked her why she had written this book. She said: 'Because in the last 13 years, so much has been written about me, mostly by people who've never met me, let alone known me . . . I wanted people to see that I don't have horns on my head.'

She described her position as prime minister's wife as 'a platform'. But in terms of what she could do with it, she was constrained by what she calls 'the goldfish bowl' phenomenon. 'The choices have become a lot more restricted in modern times,' she said, 'because of the influence of the media, the much greater interest in personalities in politics than before and a less deferential society.'

There were, nevertheless, times when she did speak out on policy issues. She was, for instance, a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court. When Mr Clinton was US president, he signed on to it. But his successor, Mr Bush, threatened to take America's signature off. Mrs Blair tried to persuade him personally not to, but in vain.

I asked Mrs Blair whether she ever intervened on policy in Britain. 'You have to be really careful,' she replied. 'You're not the person the British people expect to speak on their behalf. And just because you're married to someone who is does not qualify you to express views on policy - not least because you don't have access to all the papers and background.'

But did she disagree with Mr Blair on anything? 'That's between me and him,' she said with a laugh. 'I would say that he's not perfect and like all wives, I wouldn't agree absolutely, all the time, with everything he does. But I thought he was the best person in the right job at the right time.'

When it came to the prime minister stepping down, Mrs Blair identifies the catalysts succinctly in her book: 'There was Iraq and there was Gordon,' she says, referring to Gordon Brown, the current prime minister, who she depicts, unflatteringly, as one who overreached. 'Gordon wanted to become prime minister so much,' she suggests, 'he failed to understand that had he been prepared to implement Tony's programmes on internal reform . . . Tony would have stood down. Instead of which, Tony felt he had no option but to stay on and fight for the things he believed in.' Nevertheless, she maintains in our interview that Britain is now in good hands, 'not only in Gordon, but in the Labour Party'.

On Iraq - the invasion of which is widely regarded as Tony Blair's biggest blunder while in office - she claims she was always '100 per cent behind' her husband; not a shred of doubt, not an iota of admission that there might have been a mistake. Her take on Iraq falls squarely in the 'but she would say that, wouldn't she?' category. Somehow, you get the impression she would have known better.

Mrs Blair believed the British press's 'relentless campaign' against her was a sort of proxy war. 'It was simply using me as a way of getting at my husband,' she wrote. But it seems the campaign has continued even after the Blairs left No 10. She has been savagely lampooned in the British media for her 'cringeworthy outpourings', 'constant, sulky point-scoring' and 'intoxication with herself' in this book.

In fairness, it does not deserve that fate. It is a readable, vivid behind-the-scenes and after-hours look at a British PM's life and work, as only a spouse can depict. You also cannot but admire Mrs Blair for juggling so adroitly a high-powered career, her various duties as first lady, and motherhood - all under the glare of a hostile media.

If only she were as candid on the big things that really matter as she is - ostentatiously so - on so many things of lesser consequence . . .