Londoner's Diary
Short-serving prime minister Liz Truss is off to the US this week to talk about shared “Anglo-American values” of “freedom, patriotism and family”. She is due to meet Republican congressional leaders in Washington DC tomorrow.
Truss kicked off her visit with an article in the Wall Street Journal. “I hope that a Republican will be returned to the White House in 2024,” she writes. “There must be conservative leadership in America once again.” While she doesn’t seem to have anyone specific in mind (there are seven people running for the party’s nomination), it leaves the door open to Truss giving former president Donald Trump the nod.
Last year, when she was PM, Trump said Truss was “very good, very nice” and praised her mini-budget tax cuts. But, given his professed aversion to “losers”, we wonder if Trump will be chasing a proper endorsement.
The Tories are still technically a sister party of the Republicans as both are members of the International Democracy Union grouping. But their political differences, over issues such as abortion, have grown stark in recent years.
Boris marches on
Baby Frank, Boris and Carrie Johnson’s four-month old son, got his first taste of politics yesterday at the march against antisemitism through central London. His father, the former PM, posed for this picture with journalist Julia Hartley-Brewer. The pair were all smiles, but they have recently become broadcasting rivals. Hartley-Brewer presents a show on Talk TV while Johnson has signed for
GB News. Hartley-Brewer was happy to see the Johnson family at the march, but asked after other senior politicians like Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer. According to Sarah Vine, ex-wife of Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, some senior figures were asked not to attend as it would place excess pressure on the police. Gove was pursued through Victoria station by ceasefire protesters during Remembrance weekend.
Glitch in the Matrix? "Intellectual John Wick" nabs Booker Prize
Thought three Pauls on the Booker Prize shortlist was coincidence enough? On top of that, it turns out two of the them (Lynch and Murray) are from Dublin and have known each other for years.
Runner up Paul Murray, author of The Bee Sting, said that although it was “initially confusing”, there’s no risk of getting the two of them mixed up. For while Murray is fair haired, Lynch bears an uncanny resemblance to Keanu Reeves.
“He looks like an intellectual John Wick,” Murray mused. The resemblance was much remarked upon at last night’s prize ceremony. Lynch, who won the Prize, even sports Reeves-esque black suits.
All the same, the two Irish Pauls helped each other navigate the “overwhelming” journey to the Booker shortlist. “Just talking about stuff that nobody else I know could possibly understand has been a blessing,” Murray told us. Pa(u)ls for life.
Last Night in Town
At Cineworld Leicester Square, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai attended a special screening of We Dare To Dream. The film follows a group of refugee athletes attempting to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. The movie was produced by American musician John Legend. Malala was joined by James Corden, back in London after his stint as a US talk show host. Emma Watson asked a question of the film crew during a post-screening Q&A.
Across town, writer Richard Curtis and his wife, the broadcaster Emma Freud, were at the screening of Curtis’s new Christmas comedy Genie, with Melissa McCarthy and Paapa Essiedu.
