New Statesman
New Statesman
UK · 12 mins ago

After Keir Starmer

Illustration by Andre Carrilho In his later life, travelling on the train home one day, the former Conservative Party leader Alec Douglas-Home was approached by an elderly lady who told him how she and her husband thought it a great tragedy that he had never been prime minister. To this, Douglas-Home is said to have politely replied: “As a matter of fact I was, but only for a very short time.” Apocryphal or not, Douglas-Home’s life is filled with such tales of self-deprecation. Having served as prime minister for less than a year before losing power to Harold Wilson in 1964, he is now little remembered at all. After a notable life of service and achievement he is reduced to being a piece of trivia; a Pointless answer in a pub quiz. Subscribe to read the full article. Change Browser if you
New Statesman
Do you trust New Statesman?
Sign in to rate
Discussion
?

No comments yet — be the first to start the discussion!