Johnny Mercer fails to hear the voice of the people

Johnny Mercer Alamy C anvassing is fraught with danger and all manner of mistakes can befall a parliamentary candidate. The former minister Johnny Mercer, in his book No Way to Run a Country , has recalled how he once took to the streets of his seat in Plymouth, but was hampered by the hearing loss he had suffered after his military service. He asked one lady if she was going anywhere soon and the woman answered with the grim news that she was going to “chemotherapy”. Mercer didn’t quite catch this and replied: “That sounds lovely, you are so lucky, I am so jealous.” Brevity rules Just as the Conservatives were sharpening their knives to take on John Healey’s first budget, along has come a tool to blunt their blades. Liz Truss is back with a book called Bank Job , a tua culpa which explains how the calamity of her mini-budget was actually down to the Bank of England. (And Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, George Osborne et al — the conspiracy to make her look foolish needed a lot of time and manpower). The book is 99 pages long. Characteristically brief. Most commented 1 Forgotten particle may hold key to how universe survived big bang Science 250 comments 2 Lily Allen: ‘I felt I was a vehicle for male pleasure — not my own’ Music 249 comments 3 ‘We got a call yesterday. Birth mum’s had another baby’ Parenting 32 comments 4 Doctor Who and me — Russell T Davies on his life in TV Books 26 comments 5 Budget 2026 predictions: when is it and what could be announced? Economics 235 comments Andy Burnham’s crackdown on people playing music on public transport is a rare example of a universally popular measure. According to More in Common, 93 per cent of the population think it is “not OK” to play music out loud on a train, and in the age bracket of 76 and over that number rises to 100 per cent. Never has there been a more silent majority. Art imitates life The writer Sarah Helm’s support for Palestine Action has caused a problem for her husband, the national security adviser Jonathan Powell. However, he might be used to this. In 2011, Helm wrote a stage play called Loyalty about the tension between a bitter opponent of the war in Iraq and her husband, the PM’s chief of staff, a role that Powell had performed for Tony Blair. However, Blair was relaxed about this unfriendly fire. When he was told that Helm had written it, the former PM’s only reaction was to ask: “Who’s playing me?” Top stories 1 16 of the best safaris in Africa Africa The father of the house and Roman Catholic Sir Edward Leigh is not a fan of the prime minister’s attempts to allow followers of the Holy See to appoint CofE bishops. “I am not sure that many of us actually want to be involved in appointing Anglican bishops,” he said. “Although we might improve the number of bishops who talk about God.” Advertisement Fit for a Queen Touring was a hard life for Freddie Mercury. According to Classic Rock magazine, the singer became used to the finest hotel rooms and, when in Budapest in 1986, he was given a penthouse overlooking the Danube. His bandmate Roger Taylor came in and remarked on how plush the suite was, to which their accompanying photographer Denis O’Regan said: “Well, Roger, in the Hungarian People’s Republic, all rooms are equal.” Taylor replied: “Well, it’s a f***’s sight more equal than mine.” How ironic that communism should be so well critiqued by a band called Queen.