Left-wing firebrand and Guardian columnist Owen Jones trekked up to Manchester with a small camera crew for Tory conference this week. In his now traditional “behind-the-scenes” video, Jones tries to take the fight to the Tories by door stepping delegates and asking them questions. Nowt wrong with that. But in his videos Jones often ends up doing mind-battle with spotty teenagers, which has annoyed some.
It’s scintillating stuff, not least because the tyro-Tories sometimes get the better of Jones. But Olivia Lever, director of the young Tory think tank Blue Beyond, said she found it “extremely unsettling” this year. Writing on X, she questioned the ethics of interviewing younger members who may come to regret having their early political convictions committed to YouTube forever.
In fairness, Jones did manage to door step some prominent politicians like Lord Pickles and Lee Anderson. He also tried to harangue the PM this year, but No 10 staff saw him coming and formed a human wall. Only young Tories, it seems, are naive enough to give a prominent left-wing journalist their time. Until, that is, they find themselves pilloried online.
Conservative councillor Tom Jones (no relation) was 18 when Jones tried the routine on him. “Owen’s gig is as original as it is insightful,” he told us, “he was in his early thirties when he interviewed me, he’s nearly 40 now. Incredibly, he’s still matching wits with teenagers. And losing.”
Jeffrey Bernard returns to the Coach & Horses
When is a pub not a pub? When it becomes a theatre. The famed Coach & Horses in Soho will soon be doing just that as it plans an immersive staging of Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell by Keith Waterhouse. The play follows the real-life antics of the sometime journalist and full-time alcoholic Jeffrey Bernard, who drank in the pub. In its opening scene he wakes up locked inside the Coach by the landlord. The title comes from a notice in the Spectator magazine when Bernard did not file his column on time because he was drinking in the pub. Cold Feet’s Robert Bathurst, pictured, will take on the role, first performed by Peter O’Toole. The show opens this month.
Stan’s plan for a trattoria
Stanley Tucci and Felicity Blunt were the soul of the party at the re-opening of Harrods dining hall last night. The Londoner was saying hello to former diarist Elizabeth Day, now an author and podcaster, when the couple arrived. The pair immediately came to greet their pal Day. We asked if Stan had restaurant plans. “It would be small,” he said. “It would have 10 tables. Ten Tables… that’s actually quite a good name.” London or Italy? “Well, I live here. It would certainly be practical.” But the menu would boast traditional cuisine from all regions of Italy, he promised. When’s opening night? “In my dotage,” Tucci teased, “but it’s a lot. You have to be there all the time and I wouldn’t be able to do that.” Tucci and Blunt outstayed most of their fellow celebs including actors Will Poulter and Douglas Booth and singer Self Esteem, who nipped in to perform a few tunes. Nick Grimshaw was on the decks until close.
