stamped on it. Tom was very upset, but it was politics in
a nutshell. You have to take it on the chin and carry on.
I started out working for a chemical company.
I remember my boss saying, if you work very hard for
40 years you might make it to the board. And I thought,
“Crikey, is that my life?” Politics seemed infinitely
more exciting — and it was. For me it has been about
insoluble, impossible problems. It’s like having a place
at the top table where you can say, this is what I think.
I am quite sure Tom inherited the bug.
He studied politics A-level [at Marlborough College]
and he changed his views from week to week. I phoned
once and he said: “You capitalists should be ashamed of
yourselves, communism is the only ideology that works.”
Bearing in mind his mother had escaped a communist
regime as a refugee [during the Hungarian Revolution
in 1956] we found that rather amusing. The next time I
phoned he was off communism and it was Mussolini. He
tried out all kinds of ideas and I honestly have no idea
where he settled. After school we got him a job as a gofer
for John Major. I remember him going to Bolton, one of
the “red wall” towns, where Labour Party members had
filled the square. He was part of a team of young men
who linked arms around John to physically protect him.
My father was a career soldier. His answer to
PORTRAIT BY PAUL STUART
STRANGE
HABITS
Tom on Bill
His unique dress
sense: a yellow
polo shirt to
prize day at
school, trainers
to meetings. He
really couldn’t
give a stuff what
anyone thinksBill on Tom
Tom’s perennial
lateness: at
university he
handed in his
essays late. And
now when we
watch Arsenal
he arrives late
and puffingeverything was: “Because I say so.” Strict orders. So
I decided I’d share everything with Thomas and his
sister, Daisy. If important people came to the house
they talked to them. If they asked questions I explained
what I knew, and I didn’t expect my views to be theirs.
I think that’s why, from when he was quite small,
Thomas could talk to anybody with confidence.
I’m good with people but he’s better. Tom is better
than me at holding his tongue. However annoying or
frustrating the situation, he seems to keep his cool.
Presenting and editing his own news programme
[The News Desk on TalkTV] is a dream job for him.
He says the hardest thing about switching from Times
Radio to TV is learning to read the autocue.
Politicians clearly like him and I think he has worked
hard for their trust. A few summers ago, when the
Commons was in recess, he gave me a guided tour.
He showed me the table in the coffee bar he sat at in
the morning [when he was political editor of The Sun]
where “people tell me things”. As we were walking
round a couple of cabinet ministers took him aside for
a word. Did I feel proud? I thought: “That’s my boy.” nInterviews by Caroline Scott.
The News Desk is on TalkTV, Monday to Friday, 7pmThe Sunday Times Magazine • 7