Oh Lord! Blunkett's dog ‘deeply resentful’ after Parliament’s newest pup fetches attention
A blind peer has joked that his guide dog is “deeply resentful” about Parliament’s newest assistance pup receiving more publicity than him.
Lord Blunkett is accompanied in the House of Lords by Barley, a black retriever-German shepherd cross who is the Labour former cabinet minister’s seventh guide dog.
But attention in the Palace of Westminster in recent weeks has been focused on the newest guide dog on the estate, Jennie, who assists recently elected Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling.
The four-year-old golden retriever has been dubbed the honorary 73rd Lib Dem MP on the Commons benches and has featured in several newspaper articles and television appearances.
Jennie assists the MP for Torbay, who has a genetic eye condition called Stargardt disease.
ITV News Reporter Sam Holder met up with Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling and his guide dog Jennie shortly after the pair arrived in Westminster in July
Speaking during a Lords debate on providing support for infants and parents, Lord Blunkett said it was a “no-brainer” to provide information from conception to age two to help set the foundations for a baby.
He said: “This is acknowledged and supported by parties of all persuasions. I notice that the new MP for Torbay put a question down very quickly on this issue.”
To laughter, Lord Blunkett then joked: “I also notice that his dog got a lot more publicity than mine, for which my dog is deeply resentful.”
Reacting to the comments on Friday, Mr Darling said: “You know what they say about politics, it’s a dog eat dog world.
“David shared some good advice with me in my first week of Parliament, so Jennie would be happy to return the favour with some PR tips for Barley. She has a lot of respect for him as an experienced guide dog in Parliament.”
Jennie and Barley are not the only four-legged companions in Whitehall. Fellow assistance dog Nancy supports the work of Lord Holmes of Richmond on the Conservative benches, while Speaker of the House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle has cats Clem and “head mouser” Attlee.
Arguably the most famous furry face in British politics is Larry the Cat, Downing Street’s resident mouser - who has become something of a celebrity figure over the last decade, often appearing in the street amid important political moments.
Larry has remained a key resident of No 10 since he was adopted from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in 2011.
He has witnessed first hand the premierships of six prime ministers: David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and more recently Sir Keir Starmer.
Earlier this week, Sir Keir revealed he has let his children get a new kitten while they live at Downing Street, after “a long summer of negotiations” about a dog.
The prime minister and his family moved into No 10 with their own family rescue cat, named JoJo.
Asked what the reaction had been from Larry to the news of a second new addition to Downing Street’s feline population, Sir Keir shared the problems of living with pets in the high security environs of No 10.
Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.
"The problem we’ve got, which is the same for JoJo the cat, is that the only door out of our new flat is bomb proof," he said.
“Therefore, getting a cat flapping it is proving a little bit difficult. But our daughters persuaded us that the problem isn’t any bigger for two cats than one. And therefore, we’re now getting this kitten.”
Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda in every episode…