Come On, Eileen
Last week, the Speaker gave up his apartment for the evening so that Eileen Wright could have a party. Secretaries, posties, door keepers and MPs crowded in to celebrate what must be a unique event - the wonderful Eileen was celebrating her sixtieth year in the House of Commons. As Matthew Parris pointed out in his speech (she works for him and for Patrick McLoughlin, as well as Betty Boothroyd and Jack Weatherill), Eileen arrived when Clem Attlee was prime minister and our current PM was not even born. She had already notched up a third of a century by the time Margaret Thatcher entered Downing Street.
I mentioned Eileen’s achievement to the BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson. He told me that on his last visit to the White House, a familair figure, a lady called Mary who herds the press around the place, announced that she thought it was time to move on. Apparently she has notched up 64 years. Come on, Eileen. We need another ten from you to be sure of the record!