Partygate first appeared in December 2021 and since then there has been speculation about how many letters I may have received from Conservative colleagues asking me to call a vote of confidence with the Prime Minister. Press reports have regularly informed the public how close I came to hearing from the required 54 MEPs, who almost always got it wrong. Sometimes two or more estimates published on the same day differed by dozens, usually according to the editorial preferences of the newspaper in question. As the Jubilee holiday approached, the threshold was nigh, but some of my colleagues (rightly so, in my view) were careful not to interrupt Her Majesty’s celebration.
Lessons from past experiences
The last time this process was triggered, during Theresa May’s tenure in December 2018, someone at No. 10 leaked the fact that I was seeking an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister. I got on the tube in Westminster and by the time I got back to Bond Street ten minutes later all hell was breaking loose with missed calls on my mobile from every lobby correspondent. This time, after calling Boris Johnson in the early afternoon of June 5th, things remained fairly tight, only the next morning there was an increased level of media speculation. Most things went smoothly last time, so I used the same schedule.
A short statement in front of the cameras in the morning, a private lobby briefing in the afternoon and then the announcement of the result at 9 p.m. The officers of the 22’s rose to the challenge, as did the staff who helped us. Filling out the poll in just over 12 hours from announcement to result has to be the best way to do it.
A welcome result
On the afternoon of June 6th a written ministerial statement announced the Government’s very welcome decision to phase out the Golborne Link portion of HS2. Once the planned depot was moved south to Crewe, the business benefit was no longer there. But it took me and my local colleagues over five years of lobbying to get their removal, saving the village of Warburton from partition – and saving the taxpayer over £3billion to boot.
Given the timing of the announcement, twitterati immediately began to suggest that I was being bribed with good news for my constituency. All of this led to the fact that suddenly it was helpful that the Guardian had reported two months ago that I had written to voters as promised by ministers.
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The Taste of Diplomacy
Blanket media coverage for just one day every few years leads to a very strange kind of celebrity. Some people will give me advice on the future of the Prime Minister standing next to me on the bus, others don’t know me from Adam. A day or two after the vote of confidence, this meant we were whisked straight into the Italian Ambassador’s wonderful National Day party for Campari and canapés. A number of Ambassadors expressed their appreciation for my handling of recent events. Maybe I should have become a diplomat instead of a politician?
Back to the 1922 chair of the committee, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak answering nearly 20 questions from peers. After that, I was able to rush from a Commons reception I hosted for the Grammar School Heads Association and still get to the Sutton Trust’s 25th Anniversary Dinner. I have been a strong supporter of the Trust’s brilliant work in promoting social mobility since I was shadow minister for schools 20 years ago. The foundation’s success owes much to the dedication (and considerable generosity) of its founder and chairman, Sir Peter Lampl.
celebrate normality
Back in Altrincham for my surgery, I was reminded that whatever the flaws in British politics and our Constitution, the greatest strength of our system is the accessibility of Members of Parliament to our constituents. Whether it is seeking help with a problem or simply voicing an opinion, most members of the British public can visit their elected representative at a help desk near them or even in a local supermarket aisle.
There may be an extraordinary week or two with media, lots of drama and the occasional embassy party, but in the end it all comes down to the constituency. For me, a very busy week ended with a Jubilee street party on Sunday (appropriately in Queen’s Road, Hale) where residents raise money for the Children’s Society.