“You sure you don’t want to fight for a third term?”
“I thought I did, but I’m knackered. I don’t know how others have done three terms, and they were older than me. At least we’ve had another female PM who’s won two elections. She can keep her record of three.”
Edward chuckled. “Do you think William will stand as well?”
“I’m hoping to avoid that. The party knows you’re my recommendation, Eddie. You’re bright, there’s no scandal, and you get shit done. You’re also one of the few politicians who can answer a direct question from a journalist without causing a press storm. That’s me included.”
Edward had been deputy prime minister for the past five years, and effectively the PM’s number two. He’d been positioned as her successor, and she’d told him that when she appointed him. Hargreaves had been his potential competitor in the cabinet until his recent resignation. He’d believed he was the best to lead the party into the next election, but whether he still thought that after losing his cabinet job was something he hadn’t spoken publicly about. Hargreaves occupied the extreme right of the party, whereas Edward and Olivia were more centrist. It was the only way you could win an election in this country. Most of the electorate sat in themiddle and would veer in different directions depending on the flavour of the month.
“William resigning might play to our advantage. If the campaign starts in the new year, this whole business will still be fresh, and it’ll hurt him.”
“I hope you don’t expect me to use the trans community for political point scoring?”
“Of course not. Social media will do that for you.”
Edward felt uncomfortable about that. He wanted to get the job on merit, not dirty tricks, and certainly not using one of the most vulnerable groups in society against his opponent.
“Maybe I should have said more when it all kicked off.”
“You were clear that you disagreed with his views. As we all were.”
“Yes, but was that enough? Maybe I should have said something more.”
“Then you’d have been playing right into his hands, and he’d have believed he had the right to go after you then.”
“Well, what if I come out before you step down? There’s nothing else he could hold over me then.”
“That’s not my decision, Eddie. You know you’ll have my full support whenever you decide the time is right. But you know William will use that against you with the party faithful.”
She was referring to grassroots members, who would have the final say if it went to a vote. They’d seen some disastrous choices from party members in the past, and that’s what Hargreaves would be, for everyone. He knew the consensus in the cabinet was that Edward would be uncontested when the time came, but he suspected it would not be as easy as they’d hoped.
The rest of the day went by quickly, with meetings and dealing with press queries. He just wanted to go home andveg out. It had been a long week, and most of his colleagues had already left for their constituencies. As Edward represented a constituency in North London, he didn’t have a second residence. He felt slightly smug about that, as he wasn’t taking extra taxpayers’ money. Following his dad’s death, he’d paid off his mortgage, so he had no reason to claim for anything. He rarely put in expenses and had been reported as the lowest-claiming MP for the last three years.
He was comfortable financially, and he wasn’t in politics for the money. He believed he could make the country better for everyone and not just the favoured few. Edward hadn’t been born into privilege. His father had been a very successful lawyer, having worked his way up from the bottom, whilst his mother had stayed at home to raise Edward. His father had been quite traditional about where a woman’s place was, but thankfully his mother had loved being at home for Edward all the time, so she had never felt like she was missing out on anything from being a housewife.
Not that MPs weren’t well paid compared to the national average salary, but if Edward were still a lawyer, he knew he’d be earning at least three times what he did now. At thirty, he’d been close to becoming one of the youngest equity partners in his firm when he was surprisingly elected as an MP. His father had felt conflicted, as he’d wanted Edward to follow in his footsteps, but having an MP as a son was something he could boast about.
Edward had been a local councillor for five years prior to being elected, and had been asked to stand as a candidate in a seat they were unlikely to win because they wanted a local boy from London. He loved the idea of representing the area where he grew up. Many other prospective MPs were airlifted into safe seats in areas they had no connection with.
It had been a shock to Edward and everyone else when he’d won, and he’d taken it as a sign and quit his job the next day. He’d needed to take unpaid leave during the campaign,so his firm didn’t appear to be affiliated with one political party over the other. He’d basically just said he wasn’t coming back, that the job started immediately and he wasn’t able to give notice. Thankfully, they’d been understanding about it.
Once he was home, he had something to eat, and tried to relax and watch the latest show he was binging, but he was restless. The PM confirming her departure had rattled him. It was something he knew was coming, but now it was a certainty, and this was his one shot at becoming PM. You rarely got a second chance, and there weren’t many who went for the job, lost, and then tried again. If he didn’t go for it now, it could be a decade before he got another chance to be PM, and if he got it now, he’d be the second youngest UK prime minister of all time. Nobody was ever going to beat William Pitt, but he’d be happy with the silver medal.
Edward was contemplating calling it a night and going to bed when he got a text from his best friend.
Derek:You coming down tonight?
Edward:I’m already dressed for bed.
Derek:What’s wrong with you? You’re younger than me!
Derek liked to be blunt. He was only five years older than Edward, and had been his mentor at the law firm they’d worked at before they’d both left around the same time to take different paths. Edward had become an MP. Derek had abruptly ended his second marriage, and opened a sex club called The Back Room. Now that was how you had a midlife crisis in style. How they were friends, Edward wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t imagine not having Derek in his life.
Derek:The place is full of twinks tonight!
Edward laughed. Derek knew exactly what to say to convince Edward to change his mind. He could go to bed, but his mind was still racing from his meeting with Olivia earlier. A few drinks and the possibility of some tension relief would help him relax this weekend. The PM was going to share hertransition plan with her close allies within the cabinet next week, so they would all want conversations with Edward to know where they stood in their jobs if he took power. He’d have to be cautious about how he approached that because some of them, although brilliant at what they did, would not be right for the front bench of the government he wanted to build.
Having showered when he got in from work, it didn’t take him longer than ten minutes to be dressed and in a cab heading to King’s Cross. To be safe, he was dropped at the train station and walked five minutes around the corner. He went round the back and sent a message to Derek telling him he’d arrived. Less than a minute later, the door burst open.
