In a future issue of Total Politics, we want to do a written version of WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE on a current British politician. If you are a politician and you think you may have a interesting (and hopefully scandalous!) genealogical background and would like to volunteer to take part, and have J B Seatrobe uncover your family skeletons, do get in touch.
Or if you are a reader and would like to suggest a politician we should approach, feel free to suggest a victim in the comments!
I know this isn't exactly what you are looking for, but I'd be interested in a retrospective of Alan Clark and ancestors.........
ReplyDeleteObvious choice is Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk), said to be a descendant of John Bellingham who assassinated Spencer Perceval in 1812.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember a story from the late 1980s where one of Margaret Thatcher's ancestors was discovered to have been hanged for murder.
Alan Duncan could be interesting, I suspect.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, and Cherie Booth is related to John Wilkes Booth, assassin of Lincoln.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could ask John Major to help. he had some interesting views on his front bench team's parentage.
ReplyDeleteBy the way it's not too late to vote
Vote for the No 1 Hypocrite here
Obviously, Gordon Brown. Let us see where he truly came from!
ReplyDeleteWe may find, like the blessed Margaret, some blacksheep in his family!
Then, of course, another one of interest is David Boothroyd. I think he is related to Erskine and May?
Alistair Darling may be quite good. It would halt the rumour that he's a Scot for one thing because it would be discovered he was born and lived in London for some years.
ReplyDeleteThis completely ruined Who Do You Think You Are? for me.
ReplyDeleteI hope whichever politician you choose has the same experience.
Just go to the web site listings for Newgate Gaol and tap in a few names and away you go, over the hills and far away.
ReplyDeleteDougie Hurd comes from stock but what of the other half????
ReplyDeleteHarriet Harman - it's the only choice.
ReplyDeleteOpening scene of modern selective school cut to black and white still of St Paul's School circa 1976,
and thence to framed portrait of Uncle in some grand hall - below which, on a display cabinet, is a set of silver spoons engraved with the names of those Harman babies from whose mouths they were retrieved...
Cut to:
Toynbee.P: I first met Harriet down the Maltby Number 3 main seam. She was a face-worker and I was an apprentice shot firer...hard days they were, with nowt but a sun-dried tomato foccaccia and a glass of chilled Sancerre to see yer through 'til teatime...
Ken Livingstone!
ReplyDeleteProve he isn't a descendant of a commie.
Obvious choice is Nick Palmer MP!
ReplyDeleteMaybe not well known but his family background crosses to Tories, the Peerage and even Russians plus an interesting Royal close incounter! Their is even communism in there! Plus the perchant for hairy furballs of the meowing variety!
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ReplyDeleteOh goodie.
ReplyDeleteHow far back do the David Cameron toffs run? Is he a thoroughbred toff or just a nouveau toff?
And how much of an oik is George Osborne? Is he really the oik that his contemporaries clearly believed him to be? How far back is his oik-ness?
I'd like to know which demonic, despotic family produced the bloodline that led to Gordon Brown
ReplyDeleteMad Paul "windbag" Flynn, I bet there is a Tory toff in his history....
ReplyDeleteStill permitting Jonathan Cook to use that disgraceful profile picture Iain. Shame on you. How about John Leech MP - an appalling man willing to stop at nothing to get elected, including giving hoax leaflets to cancer patients? His dad's a Minister of the Church. How can this be?
ReplyDeleteJack Straw his brother is an interesting character to investigate!
ReplyDeleteChris Paul said "Still permitting Jonathan Cook to use that disgraceful profile picture Iain? Shame on you."
ReplyDeleteTaking offence on Dolly's behalf, are you? Surprised he hasn't written a massive article on LabourList calling him as a racist yet.
Boris Johnson has an interesting ancestry.
ReplyDeleteHow about looking into Gorbals Mick's illustrious roots.
ReplyDeleteGlasgow is always going to interesting.