Christmas Radio Times Question & Answer shows why #Labour is stuffed under #Corbyn’s Leadership

Prime Minister Theresa May reveals what she’ll be doing on Christmas Day

Think goose, Doctor Who and Agatha Christie…

What will you be doing on Christmas Day, Prime Minister?

What I’ve been doing for the last nearly 20 years. A quick drink with friends in our village and then the churches in my Maidenhead constituency come together to put on a lunch and entertainment for older people who would otherwise be on their own. I have a drink and chat with them then go home and serve up my own meal.

Do you get somebody to cook Christmas dinner for you?

No! I always like to cook the Christmas meal myself. But it won’t be turkey. For a few years now we have tended to have goose instead.

There’s a tremendous amount of fat on a goose…

There is, but if you keep the fat, it makes wonderful roast potatoes for quite a long time thereafter.

Your father was a vicar. Is the religious side of Christmas important to you?

Yes. Throughout my life I have been going to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and church on Christmas Day morning. As a child I had to wait until my father had finished his services before I could open my presents.

That must have been hard for a little girl.

It felt like a very long wait. Others I knew would be able to open their presents first thing in the morning.

Did you watch your father take his Christmas services?

I did, from an early age. I’m an only child and my mother played the organ. So I would sit alongside her while my father was taking the service.

Does that memory tinge Christmas with sadness?

When you first lose your parents, Christmas is hugely, hugely important. Now I enjoy Christmas with my husband Philip and we keep up the tradition of going to church. But, of course, it does remind me of my parents.

If you could pick the TV schedule for Christmas night, what would you choose?

I always like to see Doctor Who on Christmas night, if possible, and a nice Agatha Christie to curl up with. David Suchet was a great Poirot – he got him to a T.

When you were young, did your parents let you watch much?

We could only get the BBC. Then, one day, my mother managed to jiggle the aerial and we got ITV and I saw Robin Hood. That music and Richard Greene as Robin Hood really grabbed me.

Any female TV role models?

I enjoyed watching The Avengers with Diana Rigg and then Joanna Lumley. But I don’t think I thought about it in those terms. I have never had a female role model – I’ve always just got on with doing what I am doing.

Do you and Philip snatch sofa suppers at Number 10?

I don’t tend to eat in front of the television. When we’re going to bed at home, I quite like listening to BBC Radio Berkshire.

Did you watch Ed Balls on Strictly Come Dancing?

I like watching Strictly but my Saturday evenings tend to be busy so I wasn’t really able to see Ed. Just snatches on the Sunday results programme.

Tempted, Prime Minister?

I can’t dance. It’s not a good idea.

Do you like European dramas?

I enjoyed Scandi dramas Borgen and The Bridge. Years ago I thought Das Boot was very evocative.

Do your advisers ever say, “Prime Minister, you really should watch this”?

My advisers don’t tell me what to watch on the television – I watch what I want to watch.

When you sat down to Christmas dinner last year, did you have any idea you would be doing it as Prime Minister this year?

Politics is an interesting business, things happen. In this case, obviously, they happened rather more quickly than people had expected. But no, I had no idea.

Christmas Radio Times 2016

If you have read this far …

Imagine, if you are able, Jeremy Corbyn’s Radio Times Christmas Question and Answer.

Reflect on the nous of May’s spin team in getting her this slot and in the only issue of the Radio Times that covers a fortnight (and goes on sale early in December).

Remember May is most popular with people aged over 55, who are the people most likely to vote in a General Election.

May is Mum to Corbyn’s Beardy Weirdie, Nuttall’s Speccy Slaphead, Sturgeon’s Miss Jean Brodie, the Green Jobshare, the Invisible Man and Woman.  May looks normal in comparison with all of them.

Blow for Len McCluskey #JC4PM as he fails to win backing of key #Unite group #AgainstLen #Corbyn #Labour

Unite Now – which has endorsed Mr McCluskey in the previous two elections – said it would not be giving its support to any candidate “at this present time”.

The decision will be a major disappointment for Mr McCluskey, who had been confident of getting their endorsement.

One senior Unite source told PoliticsHome: “Len had been openly stating at officer meetings that Unite Now would endorse him, so this is a bitter blow.

“Unite Now members mainly work in aerospace, shipbuilding, engineering, energy, automotive and nuclear, which all have a lot of membership in large blocks.

“They very well organised and came out in support of McCluskey in the last two elections.”

The general secretary election was called when Mr McCluskey dramatically resigned last month. His term of office was due to run until 2018.

He has said he wanted to save the union money by holding the ballot at the same time as elections to Unite’s executive council, which take place in the spring.

Mr McCluskey is being challenged by Gerard Coyne, Unite’s regional secretary in the West Midlands, and left-wing candidate Ian Allinson.

The contest has already turned ugly, with Mr Coyne accusing his rival of being Jeremy Corbyn’s “puppet master”.

In return, Mr McCluskey has accused Mr Coyne of being the representative of the MPs who were behind last year’s failed attempt to oust the Labour leader.

In their statement, Unite Now – which is mainly made up of former members of Amicus, which merged with the Transport and General Workers Union to form Unite in 2007 – said: “After extensive debate at a national meeting, Unite Now have decided that at this present time, we will not endorse any of the candidates in the upcoming general secretary election.

“We believe that the election of the executive council of the union is of more importance, this is something that appears to be losing focus since the announcement of the general secretary election.

“The executive council is the supreme decision body of our union and it can, and must, hold the general secretary to account – regardless of who is actually elected.

Mr McCluskey said: “As this campaign continues, members will see that I am the only candidate with the experience, the track record and the vision to protect their jobs and living standards.  I am confident that I will attract the support of many individual Unite Now members as the campaign unfolds.

“Ours is a proudly democratic union.  I am determined to uphold that democracy, especially now as a threat to our independence emerges from those supporting one candidate.  We must defend our traditions and protect our union from being used as a proxy for internal battles by failed elements within the Labour party.”

Mr Coyne said: “This is very significant that a group of lay activists who have historically supported Len are not mandating their members, many of whom I know are supporting me. I’m very pleased.”

Politics Home, Sunday 8th January 2017

Unite paying two general secretary salaries after Len McCluskey’s resignation