Harry Potter is MPs' choice

Harry Potter stories were donated by various MPs

The adventures of trainee wizard Harry Potter have topped a list of books donated by MPs to their local libraries to mark the 150th anniversary of the institution.

The books by J K Rowling may have been snubbed by some literary prizes but they are clear favourites among MPs.

The appeal of the Harry Potter stories crossed party boundaries and were donated by Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs.

Many MPs also felt their own books deserved a place on their municipal shelves.

Marx for the Medway

Tory Sir Patrick Cormack, Foreign Office Minister Peter Hain, deputy speaker Sir Alan Haselhurst and former Tory party chairman Sir Brian Mawhinney all donated their own books.

Labour MP Austin Mitchell also donated his own Parliament in Pictures to his constituency library in Grimsby - and it was also selected by Tory Uxbridge MP John Randall.

The contribution's from Labour MPs ranged from Stephen Twigg's choice of Things Can Only Get Better by John O'Farrell, a humorous look at Labour's long road to power, to Francis Wheen's biography of Karl Marx.

The biography will now be available to readers in the Medway courtesy of Bob Marshall-Andrews.

He told BBC News Online: "I'm in no way a Marxist but it is a splendid book.

"Francis is a friend of mine, it is the most wonderful read and one of the best modern biographies I've read."

The books selected:

Peter Ainsworth (Con, East Surrey): The Story of Britain by Sir Roy Strong
Douglas Alexander (Lab, Paisley South): Golden Threads by David Rowand
Jackie Ballard (Lib Dem, Taunton): The Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
John Battle (Lab, Leeds West): Tristram Shandy by Laurence Stern
Margaret Beckett (Lab, Derby South): The History of the World 1901- by J M Roberts
Roy Beggs (UUP, East Antrim): Geo politics of Anglo Irish Relations in the 20th Century by Geoffrey R Sloan
Hazel Blears (Lab, Salford): Edmund Frow by Ruth Frow
Peter Bottomley (Con, Worthing West): On Popular Opinions by Dorothy L Sayers
Peter Bradley (Lab, The Wrekin): The Story of Britain by Sir Roy Strong
Colin Burgon (Lab, Elmet): Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, contributions by Union and Confederate officers, based upon "the Century War Series." Vol 2 edited by R Johnson & C Buel
Menzies Campbell (Lib Dem, North East Fife): The Progressive Dilemma by Prof David Marquand
Ben Chapman (Lab, Wirral South): Title to be confirmed
David Clark (Lab, South Shields): The Palace of Westminster by Sir Robert Cooke
Harry Cohen (Lab, Leyton and Wanstead): Title to be confirmed
Sir Patrick Cormack (Con, South Staffordshire): English Cathedrals by Sir Patrick Cormack
Jean Corston (Lab, Bristol East): Beloved by Toni Morrison
Jim Cunningham (Lab, Coventry South): Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor
Bill Etherington (Lab, Sunderland North): 'Tis by Frank McCourt
Nigel Evans (Con, Ribble Valley): Richard Burton by David Jenkins
Michael Fallon (Con, Sevenoaks): Title to be confirmed
Caroline Flint (Lab, Don Valley): Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J K Rowling
Barbara Follett (Lab, Stevenage): Roget's Thesaurus
Roger Gale (Con, North Thanet): The Cricket Match by Hugh de Sellingcourt
Cheryl Gillan (Con, Chesham and Amersham): The Chilterns by Leslie Hepple and Alison Dugget
Llin Golding (Lab, Newcastle under Lyme): The Palace of Westminster by Sir Robert Cooke
Eileen Gordon (Lab, Romford): Chasing Shadows by Hugo Gryn
Jane Griffiths (Lab, Reading East): Ragged Trousered Philanthropist by Robert Tressell
Peter Hain (Lab, Neath): The Peking Connection by Peter Hain
David Hanson (Lab, Delyn):Title to be confirmed
Sir Alan Haselhurst (Cons, Saffron Walden): Occasionally Cricket by Sir Alan Haselhurst
Sylvia Heal (Lab, Halesowen): Britain Then and Now by Phillip Zeigler
John Healey (Lab, Wentworth): Title to be confirmed
David Hinchcliffe (Lab, Wakefield): Gary Schofield's Rugby League Masterpieces by Neil Hanson
Kate Hoey (Lab, Vauxhall): Title to be confirmed
Kelvin Hopkins (Lab, Luton North): Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Alan Howarth (Lab, Newport East): Title to be confirmed
Brian Iddon (Lab, Bolton South East): The Story of Time with Umberto Eco, Ernst Gombrich, Martin Rees and others
Ann Keen (Lab, Brentford and Isleworth): Title to be confirmed
Fraser Kemp (Lab, Houghton and Washington East): Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
David Kidney (Lab, Stafford): Animal Farm by George Orwell
Andy King (Lab, Rugby and Kenilworth): The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Eleanor Laing (Con, Epping Forest): Churchill on Courage by Frederick Talbot
David Lepper (Lab, Brighton Pavilion): Lives of Leigh Miller by Tony Penrose
Tim Loughton (Con, East Worthing and Shoreham): Homer's Illiad
Robert Maclennan (Lib Dem, Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross): Muir of Huntershill by Christina Bewley
Sir David Madel (Con, South West Bedfordshire): Dancing with Dogma by Ian Gilmore
Sir Brian Mawhinney (Con, North West Cambs): In the Firing Line - Faith , Politics, Power and Forgiveness by Sir Brian Mawhinney
Eric Martlew (Lab, Carlisle): Memories of Carlisle and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
Robert Marshall-Andrews (Lab, Medway): Karl Marx by Francis Wheen
Austin Mitchell (Lab, Great Grimsby): Parliament in Pictures by Austin Mitchell
Eddie O'Hara (Lab, Knowsley South): Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
Linda Perham (Lab, Ilford North): A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf
Bridget Prentice (Lab, Lewisham East): Teddy Robinson by Joan G Robinson
Dawn Primarolo (Lab, Bristol South): A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory
John Randall (Con, Uxbridge): Westminster in Pictures by Austin Mitchell
David Rendel (Lib Dem, Newbury): Over Here by Raymond Scitz
Geoffrey Robinson (Lab, Coventry NW): The Four Quartets by TS Eliot
Christine Russell (Lab, City of Chester): The End of the Affair by Grahame Greene
Adrian Sanders (Lib Dem, Torbay): An Intelligent Person's Guide to Liberalism by Conrad Russell
Marsha Singh (Lab, Bradford West): The Hobbit by JR Tolkein
Rachel Squire (Lab, Dunfermline West): Famous Women of Fife by Lillian King
Ian Stewart (Lab, Eccles): The Awkward Warrior by Geoffrey Goodman
Dr Howard Stoate (Lab, Dartford): Series of books on the history of Dartford and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling
Gisela Stuart (Lab, Birmingham Edgbaston): Jenny Lee by Pat Hollis
Sir Teddy Taylor (Con, Rochford and Southend East): The History of Serbian Culture by Pavle Ivic, et al.
Stephen Twigg (Lab, Enfield Southgate): Things Can Only Get Better by John O'Farrell
Robert Walter (Con, North Dorset): Empty Cradles by M Humphries
Sir Raymond Whitney (Con, Wycombe): An Innkeeper's Diary by John Fothergill
Phil Willis (Lib Dem, Harrogate and Knaresborough): Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Rosie Winterton (Lab, Doncaster Central): Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Phil Woolas (Lab, Oldham East and Saddleworth): A title from the Harry Potter series by J K Rowling
Dr Tony Wright (Lab, Channock Chase): The People's Party by Dr Tony Wright
Derek Wyatt (Lab, Sittingbourne and Sheppey): Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
Sir George Young (Con, North West Hampshire): The Houses of Parliament by M H Port