Election Daily: Glenda says Brexit must happen

12 days to go

GLENDA AGREES WITH JONNY?

WHERE would we be in the race for Hampstead and Kilburn right now if Glenda Jackson was still hanging on in politics? The former MP, who won five elections here including the famous skin-of-your-teeth finale in 2010, appears to have a different take to Tulip Siddiq… in fact her view on Brexit seems remarkably similar to Tory candidate Jonny Luk’s approach. In a feature interview with The Times about her return to film acting, Ms Jackson said she had voted to remain but now it is time to leave the EU. In fact, she thinks we should be out already.

“How can we call ourselves a democracy if we ask the country, the country says out and then we waste three years?,” she said. “In my opinion, [Brexit is] the wrong decision, but that was the deal and I’m afraid we have reneged.”

OK, Mr Luk is more enthusiastic about how Boris Johson’s deal may pan out but he too was a remainer who now says that we have to say farewell for the good of democracy.

“Why settle for two [referendums]? Why not 22?,” Ms Jackson said of Labour’s policy ahead of the election.

In the same interview, she says Jeremy Corbyn isn’t racist or anti-semitic “but he’s most markedly not a leader,” adding: “That’s why we’re in the situation as a party we are at the moment.” Her interviewer couldn’t help but ask well who she would like to see leading the country instead.

“I can’t think of anyone I want to go forward with, except possibly Rory Stewart,” she replied, unpredictably as ever. “I like Rory Stewart. God love him, he hasn’t got a hope in hell.”

WHY AM I SEEING THIS AD?

IF you take The Times and saw that interview with Glenda Jackson then you might just be the kind of person who the Liberal Democrats think are their best bet in Hampstead and Kilburn.

The Matt Sanders’ campaign have adverts running on Facebook and if you break down who they are targeting them at you find that they are looking to get inside the heads of readers of The Times, The Guardian and The Economist. Even if they had everybody who reads those papers in Camden, they might still struggle to catch up 30,000 votes… although that says more about newspaper circulation than the field of play in this election. They also want Facebook to feed their ads to people who are interested in women’s rights.

SWIT-SWOO

THE Times may have got a scoop by sitting down with Glenda Jackson but that newspaper showed signs of going a little election doolally too by publishing a ‘lust list’ from the polls battle. Isn’t it terrible when everybody is objectified? Keir Starmer better get used to it. The Labour candidate in Holborn and St Pancras remains a crush for politicos, we learn, because of his manly jawline.