Politicians - Some
personal thoughts and memories
I am still
processing, as we all are, the aftermath of the Referendum. The result was the one
I expected. During my travels across the country in early June, I saw all the
Leave posters and billboards and my instinct told me that those in power would
be given a kick. Nevertheless, I am surprised by how much I feel that my world
has been turned upside down. And I’m less than happy with the euro exchange
rate as our Greek idyll on Patmos approaches!
All this –
together with the Tory leadership contest and my own journey through the
memories of my father’s decline and death last July - has left me reflective. Here
are some of my thoughts and reminiscences.
My father was a
life-long Tory. At Oxford, he became the President of the Oxford University Conservatives.
Margaret Thatcher succeeded him the following term. When I was still junior school age I remember
being taken to a restaurant in London by my parents – Margaret and Dennis
Thatcher were there as part of a large group. When she noticed my father the future
prime-minister came over and greeted him. I remember her remarkably blue eyes
and felt she was someone who seemed soft – not at all like the Iron Lady she
became.
After he graduated he was offered a safe Conservative
seat, which he declined. The reason he always gave was that he did not want to
be in a position where he had to vote against his conscience. He had no private
income or alternative employment at that time. So he went into industry and had
a worthwhile and fulfilling working life. I was especially touched by someone I
did not know who drove from some where in the North down to Aldeburgh for my
father’s funeral.
