Londoner’s Diary
Most of Westminster lost its mind yesterday, including usually staid civil servants at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The department’s grand 19th-century building has entrances on the other side of Downing Street and, as podium prep got underway, a commotion could be heard from the Foreign Office courtyard.
Mandarins had abandoned their desks and flocked down to its gates, top right, which stand opposite the door of 10 Downing Street. As gun-toting security guards shouted “stay back”, there was a momentary fear of something serious. But it was just a flock of gossiping civil servants who, ignoring instructions, pushed past the guards to get pictures and videos of the Prime Minister’s rain-soaked speech.
“The security guards tried to stop us, they tried to stop us coming down the stairs,” said one. “We just ignored them. It was a bit of a stampede,” another chimed in. Any chance of a telling off from their boss Lord Cameron? A collective: “Nah.”
Rishi’s Independence Day dream?
Why July 4? The Prime Minister didn’t give a clear reason in his speech yesterday, and so the jokes got going in Westminster. With the date’s historic resonance for Americans, there were inevitable allusions to Rishi Sunak’s other life in sunny California, where he studied, met his wife and owns a house (on the Santa Monica beachfront, no less). “It’s Rishi’s Independence Day,” joked a Labour wag. “From July 4 he can finally f*** off to America where he really wants to be.” The joke reinforces the perhaps unfair impression that the Prime Minister has given up, but that won’t stop the Labour spinners from repeating it.
Poll news cuts hairdresser’s season short — but salon has a cunning plan
Elections are bad business for some. John Simon Salon, which works around the clock providing relatively low-cost haircuts to those who work in Parliament, was peeved when the election news dropped. It means the salon’s business will dry up for the rest of the summer. But the entrepreneurial wig-choppers have been putting the word out: they will stay open throughout the long break and, while MPs are across the country campaigning, will still be offering haircuts to staffers, journalists and the like. Guests who can get hold of a visitor’s pass are also welcome to come in for a cut-price trim.
Crèche got the scoop
Mothers (and fathers) know best! It turns out that while the Westminster press pack were lost in a whirl of speculation yesterday, parents and carers in the parliamentary crèche already had the scoop.Since they need to know about changes to childcare arrangements with as much notice as possible, we hear they were tipped off in advance about the summer election. Alternative arrangements will need to be made while Parliament is dissolved, and there is a more open question for those who may sadly be losing their jobs after polling day.
