If I Had to Vote (or Speak) For...

Politics has always been a tribal sport. Political allegiances are often handed down through the generations. Some people find it unthinkable that they would vote any way other than their parents and grandparents did. Other people change their votes as often as they change their underwear. Democracy is a strange thing.

People still think of me as a tribal Conservative, even though I gave up any parliamentary ambitions, and indeed membership of the party nine years ago. Since then, yes, I have voted Conservative, but on the last three occasions I had the opportunity to vote, I voted Liberal Democrat, Independent and Brexit Party.

Given I am interviewing politicians throughout the campaign it would be wrong of me to say in advance how I intend to vote on 12th December. I may or may not reveal it afterwards!

A few weeks ago, I got a call from a non Conservative politician who asked me to speak at a fundraiser for them. It put me in a slightly difficult position, although I had done it before, for Lynne Featherstone in 2015. So I decided that the only way I could accept the invitation was to do one for someone in each of the Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Brexit Parties.

As it turned out, I never got beyond that thought because the election intervened, and no one is allowed to do party fundraisers during an election campaign. But it did set me thinking about who I would be willing to do it for.

As a consequence, I've compiled this list of politicians from each of the main parties who I would be quite happy to speak for, even if I don't agree with their policies. They are all great people and parliamentarians, and parliament would be worse off without them...