Tea with Cherie
I had tea with Cherie Blair yesterday in 10 Downing Street. Me and four other MPs. And fifteen children from our constituencies and their parents.
It was great fun. Cherie was very charming, and brought my group up to date with all her children’s news, but that’s not for publication. Mrs Blair’s secretary kept teasing me, telling me to apologise to her, as we had a run in over her signing the Hutton Report earlier this year (David Kelly was my constituent). Truth is , I didn’t know she had signed it when I complained - I was after James Purnell and Chris Bryant! I’m not a fan of attacks on Cherie - I think she does a great job in an almost impossible role.
My cosntituents loved it. I was feeling very smug, as when I asked a member of another party which MP they were with, they said “Sarah someone”. Ah ha, I thought, Sarah Teather’s got her work cut out for her at the next election. I felt slightly less smug when one of my constituents turned to Cherie and gushed “Oh, I am such a fan of your husband’s I have always supported him!”, and promptly produced a photo of TB from her handbag. Collapse of stout MP.
I know a few of the Downing Street “staffers” and bumped into them on our tour. One drily remarked: “what are you doing here? You’re three years too early”. Just for the record, I wasn’t measuring the curtains on behalf of Mrs Cameron.