GILES BARRINGTON
1963
18
‘ARE YOU SURE you want to be leader of the opposition?’ asked Harry.
‘No I don’t,’ said Giles. ‘I want to be prime minister, but I’ll have to do a spell in opposition before I can expect to get my hands on the keys to Ten Downing Street.’
‘You may have held your seat at the last election,’ said Emma, ‘but your party lost the general election by a landslide. I’m beginning to wonder if Labour can ever win another election. They seem destined to be the party of opposition.’
‘I know it must look like that right now,’ said Giles, ‘but I’m convinced that by the time the next election comes round, the voters will have had enough of the Tories and think it’s time for a change.’
‘And certainly the Profumo affair hasn’t helped,’ said Grace.
‘Who gets to decide who’ll be the next leader of the party?’
‘Good question, Sebastian,’ said Giles. ‘Only my elected colleagues in the House of Commons, all 258 of them.’
‘That’s a tiny electorate,’ said Harry.
‘True, but most of them will take soundings in their constituencies to find out who the rank and file would prefer to lead the party, and when it comes to trade union affiliated members, they’ll vote for the man their union supports. So any shipping union members from constituencies like Tyneside, Belfast, Glasgow, Clydesdale and Liverpool ought to back me.’
‘The man,’ repeated Emma. ‘Does that mean that out of 258 Labour Members of Parliament, there’s not a single woman who can hope to lead the party?’
‘Barbara Castle may decide to enter the lists, but frankly she hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell. But let’s face it, Emma, there are more women sitting on the Labour benches than on the Conservative side of the House, so if a woman ever does make it to Downing Street, my bet is she’ll be a socialist.’
‘But why would anyone want to be leader of the Labour Party? It must be one of the most thankless jobs in the country.’
‘And at the same time, one of the most exciting,’ said Giles. ‘How many people get the chance to make a real difference, to improve people’s lives, and leave a worthwhile legacy for the next generation? Don’t forget, I was born with the proverbial silver spoon in my mouth, so perhaps it’s payback time.’
‘Wow,’ said Emma. ‘I’d vote for you.’
‘Of course, we’ll all support you,’ said Harry. ‘But I’m not sure there’s a lot we can do to influence 257 MPs we’ve never come across, and are hardly likely to.’
‘It’s not that kind of support I’m looking for. It’s more personal, because I have to warn all of you sitting around this table that once again you can expect the press to start delving into your private lives. You may feel you’ve had enough of that already, and I couldn’t blame you if you did.’
‘As long as we all sing from the same hymn sheet,’ said Grace, ‘and say nothing other than that we’re delighted Giles is standing for leader of his party because we know he’s the right man for the job and we’re confident he’ll win, surely they’ll soon get bored and move on?’
‘That’s just when they’ll start digging around for something new,’ said Giles. ‘So if anyone wants to admit to anything more serious than a parking ticket, now’s your chance.’
‘I’m rather hoping my next book will get to number one on the New York Times bestseller list,’ said Harry, ‘so perhaps I ought to warn you that William Warwick is going to have an affair with the chief constable’s wife. If you think that might harm your chances, Giles, I could always hold off publication until after the election.’ Everyone laughed.
‘Frankly, darling,’ said Emma, ‘William Warwick ought to have an affair with the mayor of New York’s wife, because that would give you a far better chance of making it to number one in the States.’
‘Not a bad idea,’ said Harry.
‘On a more serious note,’ said Emma, ‘perhaps this is the moment to tell you all that Barrington’s is just about holding its head above water, and things aren’t going to get any easier during the next twelve months.’
‘How bad is it?’ asked Giles.
‘The building of the Buckingham is running more than a year behind schedule, and although we’ve had no major setbacks recently, the company has had to borrow a large sum of money from the banks. If it could be shown that our overdraft exceeded our asset value, the banks could call in those loans, and we might even go under. That’s the worst possible scenario, though it’s not impossible.’
‘And when could that happen?’
‘Not in the foreseeable future,’ said Emma, ‘unless of course Fisher felt that washing our dirty linen in public could be used to his advantage.’
‘Martinez won’t let him do that while he has such a large shareholding in the company,’ said Sebastian. ‘But that doesn’t mean he’s just going to sit on the sidelines and watch, if you do decide to throw your hat in the ring.’
‘I agree,’ said Grace. ‘And he’s not the only person I can think of who’d be only too happy to throw that hat back out of the ring.’
‘Who do you have in mind?’ asked Giles.
‘The Lady Virginia Fenwick, for a start. That woman will be delighted to remind every Member of Parliament she comes across that you’re a divorcee, and left her for another woman.’
‘Virginia only knows Tories, and they’ve already had a prime minister who was divorced. And don’t forget,’ added Giles, taking Gwyneth’s hand, ‘I’m now happily married to that other woman.’
‘Frankly,’ said Harry, ‘I think you should be more worried about Martinez than Virginia, because he’s clearly still looking for any excuse to harm our family, as Sebastian discovered when he first went to work at Farthings. And, Giles, you’re a far bigger prize than Seb, so my bet is that Martinez will do everything in his power to make sure you never become prime minister.’
‘If I decide to stand,’ said Giles, ‘I can’t spend my life looking over my shoulder, wondering what Martinez is up to. At the moment, I have to concentrate on some rivals who are far closer to home.’
‘Who is your biggest rival?’ asked Harry.
‘Harold Wilson is the favourite with the bookmakers.’
‘Mr Hardcastle wants him to win,’ said Sebastian.
‘Why, in heaven’s name?’ asked Giles.
‘Nothing to do with heaven,’ said Sebastian. ‘It’s also far closer to home. Both of them were born in Huddersfield.’
‘It’s often something as seemingly insignificant as that that can sway someone either to support or oppose you,’ sighed Giles.
‘Perhaps Harold Wilson has some skeletons in his cupboard that the press will take an interest in,’ said Emma.
‘None that I’m aware of,’ said Giles, ‘unless you include being awarded a first at Oxford and then coming top in the civil service exam.’
‘But he didn’t fight in the war,’ said Harry. ‘So your MC could be an advantage.’
‘Denis Healey also won an MC and he might well stand.’
‘He’s too clever by half to ever lead the Labour Party,’ said Harry.
‘Well, that certainly won’t be your problem, Giles,’ said Grace. Giles gave his sister a wry smile, as the family burst out laughing.
‘I can think of one problem Giles might have to face up to . . .’ They all looked at Gwyneth, who hadn’t spoken until then. ‘I’m the only outsider in this room,’ she said, ‘someone who’s married into the family, so perhaps I see things from a different perspective.’
‘Which makes your opinions all the more relevant,’ said Emma, ‘so don’t hesitate to let us know what’s making you concerned.’
‘If I do, I’m afraid it could mean opening a festering wound,’ said Gwyneth hesitantly.
‘Don’t let that stop you telling us what’s on your mind,’ said Giles, taking her hand.
‘There’s another member of your family, not in this room, who is, in my opinion, a walking time bomb.’
A long silence followed, before Grace said, ‘You’re quite right, Gwyneth, because if a journalist were to stumble across the fact that the little girl Harry and Emma adopted is Giles’s half-sister and Sebastian’s aunt, and that her father was killed by her mother after he had stolen her jewellery and then deserted her, the press would have a field day.’
‘And her mother then committed suicide, don’t forget,’ said Emma quietly.
‘The least you can do is tell the poor mite the truth,’ said Grace. ‘After all, she’s now at the Slade, and has a life of her own, so it wouldn’t be hard for the press to find her, and if they did before you’d told her . . .’
‘It’s not that easy,’ said Harry. ‘As we all know only too well, Jessica suffers from bouts of depression, and despite her undoubted talent, she often loses confidence in herself. And as she’s only a few weeks away from her mid-term exams, now isn’t exactly the ideal moment.’
Giles decided not to remind his brother-in-law that he’d first warned him over a decade ago that there was never going to be an ideal moment.
‘I could always talk to her,’ volunteered Sebastian.
‘No,’ said Harry firmly. ‘If anyone’s going to do it, it has to be me.’
‘And as soon as possible,’ said Grace.
‘Please let me know when you have,’ said Giles, before adding, ‘Are there any other bombshells you think I ought to be prepared for?’ A long silence followed before Giles continued. ‘Then thank you all for giving up your time. I’ll let you know my final decision before the end of the week. I have to leave you now, as I ought to be getting back to the House. That’s where the voters are. If I do decide to stand, you won’t see much of me during the next few weeks, as I’ll be glad-handing, making endless speeches, visiting far-flung constituencies and spending any free evenings I have buying drinks for Labour members in Annie’s Bar.’
‘Annie’s Bar?’ said Harry.
‘The most popular watering hole in the House of Commons, frequented mainly by Labour members, so that’s where I’m off to now.’
‘Good luck,’ said Harry.
The family rose as one and applauded him as he left the room.