The Londoner: Tom Watson on Corbyn - it wasn't personal

Tom Watson on comrade Corbyn | Party politics at the Spectator | Loveable literary loonies | Booker Prize flak rumbles on | Hot Priest at pre-Bafta bash | Gormley's democratic deficit
STRESS-FREE: Tom Watson
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30 January 2020

Tom Watson says he “never had cross words” with Jeremy Corbyn, despite rumours about the pair’s tense relationship. Labour’s former deputy leader told a How To Academy eventlast night that the pair “enjoyed each other’s company” and bonded over gardening, family life and the throes and woes of their football clubs. Recalling his election to deputy leader in 2015, Watson said he insisted on bringing his children into the room where he and Corbyn prepared their victory speeches. “Jeremy spent 25 minutes of the half an hour before his speech talking about the history of Leeds United and Arsenal with my son. “Then he said he had to write his speech. I thought, ‘Surely you’ve written your speech before’; I had my speech in my pocket!”

Watson then realised they would have an “odd relationship”. It became difficult, he said, after the 2016 Labour leadership challenge. “I didn’t get a one-on-one with Jeremy for 18 months. His people just pulled the shutters down.” Although Watson was frozen out, he continues to chat with the Labour leader about other serious matters. “He still texts me gardening advice,” Watson revealed.

The now zen-like politician, 53, who has lost eight stone since a diabetes diagnosis in 2017, also told journalist Hannah MacInnes that he had mellowed in middle age. “There were a lot of meetings with people who were imbecilic,” he explained. “Twenty years ago, I’d have wanted to lean over the desk and slap them round the face. There came a point where I found they were washing over me.” Watson’s new-found sense of calm did not stop him from hitting out at Momentum for creating a “culture of intolerance” in Labour. And the arch-Remainer asked all leadership candidates to be “empirical” about the election defeat. However, he would not be drawn on his preferred pick for the next leader of the party and plans to stay well away from Westminster, especially on Brexit night tomorrow. “I’m hoping to see an AC/DC cover band in Birmingham… It’s a highway to hell and all that.”

It's party politics

TABLING A MOTION: Fraser Nelson
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The Spectator is selling its boardroom table at its Old Queen Street offices because staff at the magazine are having too much fun. “We’re having a lot of parties in that room and we have to dismantle the old table all the time, so we needed a new one that’s designed to be taken apart regularly,” editor Fraser Nelson tells The Londoner. The table was from the Telegraph and still bears a scar from where its then owner Conrad Black hurled something at it in a rage. Cash raised will go to the Social Mobility Foundation — and the table must be collected by February 14. A Valentine’s gift?

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Author Sam Leith told the Oldie Literary Lunch he had a personal connection to Brexit: “I worked at the Daily Telegraph in the Nineties... all these characters would bang on about Europe.” But now, these “harmless, loveable loonies”, including Boris Johnson, are “suddenly in charge of the country”. No wonder he told The Londoner: “We’re doomed.”

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It’s the wound that won’t heal. At this week’s Costa Book Awards ceremony the Booker took yet more flak for splitting its 2019 prize. To laughter and whoops, Sian Williams, the chair of judges, told the audience: “We have been sitting in a dark room trying to find our winner... unlike some award shows, we have chosen one winner.”

Hot Priest at pre-Bafta bash

HOT IN HERE: Jeremy Irvine, James Norton and Andrew Scott
Dave Benett/Getty Images for dun

Ahead of Bafta’s big night on Sunday, London’s leading actors and filmmakers flocked to a pre-party in Mayfair. Sex Education star Lily Newmark made the dunhill & Dylan Jones bash as did Dominic West, “Hot Priest” Andrew Scott and James Norton. Margaret Clunie, who played Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland in ITV’s Victoria, also turned out for the event. Clunie had dreams outside acting when she was younger — once harbouring ambitions of becoming a fashion journalist: “I saw The Devil Wears Prada one too many times and just decided that was for me.” As for modelling, that didn’t work out either. Her experiences left her far from enamoured with the industry, as she cited too many “seedy photographers giving me s***”. It seems it has all worked out for the best. Joely Richardson, the actor and daughter of Vanessa Redgrave, was there alongside Hayley Atwell, while Clifford Samuel made an appearance with stage star Sheila Atim.

SW1A

Suella Braverman may be a former DExEU minister, but that doesn’t stop her former tutors being disappointed with her. Back at Cambridge for a Brexit debate in 2016, Braverman had argued for Leave in a “fiery debate”. Afterwards, she explains to BrexitCentral, “while everyone was clearing up, one of my former law tutors approached and, in despair and shaking his head with disbelief, asked me: ‘Where did I go wrong?’”

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Zarah Sultana, Labour’s new MP for Coventry South, has been criticised by her own side for refusing to vote in an internal parliamentary election. “Tories trying to get me to vote them on to select committees,” she captioned a Boomerang video of her binning a leaflet, adding: “Lol that’s not me.” Former Labour home secretary Jacqui Smith took issue: “You’re not voting for a Tory over a Labour candidate. There are allocated places. You’re just giving up your influence, which is not a good look.”

Democracy? It's not a level playing field

Antony Gormley
Dave Benett/Getty Images

Sir Antony Gormley describes his Horizon Field Hamburg artwork — a black floor that people could walk on, suspended in air — as “a working model of how democracy should work”. “Here was this ground — every one individual could affect the experience of the other,” the sculptor told an audience at the Zabludowicz Collection in Kentish Town. “And it got quite scary at times, because when the whole thing was going and rocking at its full potential, everybody had to sit down. Or lie down. Or leave.” No one said democracy was perfect.

Quote of the day

'Merci, danke, gracias'

Labour MP Alison McGovern bids a wistful farewell to her European colleagues

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