stand in the by-election for Bristol Docklands ten years before, rather than accepting Harold Wilson’s offer of a seat in the
Upper House, he too could have been a serious contender to lead the party. However, he accepted that timing in politics is everything, and that there were at least a dozen of his contemporaries who
could also come up with a credible scenario where they became leader of the party, and not long afterwards found themselves living in No. 10 Downing Street.
Giles believed there was only one candidate who could possibly beat Mrs Thatcher at the next general election and he could only hope that the majority of his colleagues in the Lower House had
also worked that out. Having served in government and opposition for over thirty years, he knew you could only make a difference in politics when you were sitting on the government benches, not
spending fruitless years in opposition, winning only the occasional unheralded victory.
The decision as to who should lead the party would be taken by the 269 Labour members who sat in the House of Commons. No one else would be allowed to vote. So once Callaghan had announced that
he was stepping down, Giles rarely left the corridors of power until the lights were switched off each night following the final division. He spent countless hours roaming those corridors during
the day, extolling the virtues of his candidate, while spending his evenings in Annie’s Bar, buying pints as he tried to convince any wavering colleagues in the Lower House that the
Conservatives were praying they would elect Michael Foot and not Denis Healey.
The Tories’ prayers were answered when in the second ballot Foot beat Healey by 139 votes to 129. Some of Giles’s colleagues in the Commons openly admitted they were quite happy to
settle for a period in opposition as long as the new leader shared their left-wing ideology.
Emma told Giles over breakfast the following day that when Margaret Thatcher had heard the news, she opened a bottle of champagne and toasted the 139 Labour members who’d
guaranteed that she would remain in No. 10 Downing Street for the foreseeable future.
The long-held tradition in both parties is that when a new leader is chosen, every serving member of the front bench immediately tenders their resignation, then waits to be invited to join the
new team. Once Giles had written his letter of resignation, he didn’t waste any time waiting to hear which office of state he would be asked to shadow, because he knew the phone would never
ring. The following Monday, he received a short, handwritten note from the new leader, thanking him for his long service to the party.
The following day, Giles moved out of the leader of the opposition’s office in the Lords on the first floor to make way for his newly anointed successor. As he sat alone in an even smaller
windowless room somewhere in the basement, he tried to come to terms with the fact that his front-bench career was over, and all he could look forward to was years in the wilderness on the back
benches. Over dinner that night, he reminded Karin that just ten votes had sealed his fate.
‘Five, if you think about it,’ she replied.
SEBASTIAN CLIFTON
1981
11
‘I’ M SORRY .’
‘Is that all you’ve got to say?’ said Jessica, glaring at him.
Sebastian placed an arm around his daughter’s shoulder. ‘I promise I’ll be back in time to take you and your mother for a celebration dinner.’
‘I remember the last time you promised that, then flew off to another country. At least then it was to support an innocent man, not a crook.’
‘Desmond Mellor is only allowed visitors on a Saturday afternoon between two and three o’clock, so I wasn’t left with a lot of choice.’
‘You could have told him to get lost.’
‘I promise I’ll be back by five. Six at the latest. And as it’s your birthday, you can choose the restaurant.’
‘And in the meantime I’m expected to babysit Jake, and
Upper House, he too could have been a serious contender to lead the party. However, he accepted that timing in politics is everything, and that there were at least a dozen of his contemporaries who
could also come up with a credible scenario where they became leader of the party, and not long afterwards found themselves living in No. 10 Downing Street.
Giles believed there was only one candidate who could possibly beat Mrs Thatcher at the next general election and he could only hope that the majority of his colleagues in the Lower House had
also worked that out. Having served in government and opposition for over thirty years, he knew you could only make a difference in politics when you were sitting on the government benches, not
spending fruitless years in opposition, winning only the occasional unheralded victory.
The decision as to who should lead the party would be taken by the 269 Labour members who sat in the House of Commons. No one else would be allowed to vote. So once Callaghan had announced that
he was stepping down, Giles rarely left the corridors of power until the lights were switched off each night following the final division. He spent countless hours roaming those corridors during
the day, extolling the virtues of his candidate, while spending his evenings in Annie’s Bar, buying pints as he tried to convince any wavering colleagues in the Lower House that the
Conservatives were praying they would elect Michael Foot and not Denis Healey.
The Tories’ prayers were answered when in the second ballot Foot beat Healey by 139 votes to 129. Some of Giles’s colleagues in the Commons openly admitted they were quite happy to
settle for a period in opposition as long as the new leader shared their left-wing ideology.
Emma told Giles over breakfast the following day that when Margaret Thatcher had heard the news, she opened a bottle of champagne and toasted the 139 Labour members who’d
guaranteed that she would remain in No. 10 Downing Street for the foreseeable future.
The long-held tradition in both parties is that when a new leader is chosen, every serving member of the front bench immediately tenders their resignation, then waits to be invited to join the
new team. Once Giles had written his letter of resignation, he didn’t waste any time waiting to hear which office of state he would be asked to shadow, because he knew the phone would never
ring. The following Monday, he received a short, handwritten note from the new leader, thanking him for his long service to the party.
The following day, Giles moved out of the leader of the opposition’s office in the Lords on the first floor to make way for his newly anointed successor. As he sat alone in an even smaller
windowless room somewhere in the basement, he tried to come to terms with the fact that his front-bench career was over, and all he could look forward to was years in the wilderness on the back
benches. Over dinner that night, he reminded Karin that just ten votes had sealed his fate.
‘Five, if you think about it,’ she replied.
SEBASTIAN CLIFTON
1981
11
‘I’ M SORRY .’
‘Is that all you’ve got to say?’ said Jessica, glaring at him.
Sebastian placed an arm around his daughter’s shoulder. ‘I promise I’ll be back in time to take you and your mother for a celebration dinner.’
‘I remember the last time you promised that, then flew off to another country. At least then it was to support an innocent man, not a crook.’
‘Desmond Mellor is only allowed visitors on a Saturday afternoon between two and three o’clock, so I wasn’t left with a lot of choice.’
‘You could have told him to get lost.’
‘I promise I’ll be back by five. Six at the latest. And as it’s your birthday, you can choose the restaurant.’
‘And in the meantime I’m expected to babysit Jake, and
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