Ephraim Hardcastle

MARXIST writer Tariq Ali, 74, alleges (in the current London Review of Books) that the Queen and Prince Philip expressed strong opinions at a private dinner about the 1980s miners’ strike and union leader Arthur Scargill. He says fellow Leftie Mary Furness, a society figure who attended a post-wedding party at the home of the Tennent brewing family, told him: ‘The whole evening was spent discussing the miners’ strike. Philip was abusive, wanting Scargill’s head to roll, but it was the Queen who surprised me, saying, “I think things have got really out of control, they’re holding the country to ransom”.’ It has to be said that, as snooty Left-wingers, Ms Furness and Ali have a motive for characterising the monarch and her consort as extreme Right-wingers. APROPOS Ms Furness, now 71, Ali says she adds that another guest – ex-Tory PM Harold Macmillan – told the Queen: ‘Ma’am, this is England we’re talking about, and here the pendulum never swings the whole way – and while you’re seeing the pendulum swing to the Left, I can already detect a slight movement to the Right. So don’t panic, everything’s going to be all right.’ Wise owl! ACTOR Jeff Goldblum, 65, pictured, is told by GQ magazine that some consider him ‘a little creepy in the post-Harvey Weinstein world’. US actress Vivica A. Fox, 53, an Independence Day costar in 1996, is quoted elsewhere as saying: ‘He has a way of melting the panties off.’ Goldblum responds: ‘With the climate as it is, and with the page turned as it should be in Hollywood now, one has to be vigilant.’ Very reassuring. DISCUSSING her bestselling 1969 book How To Stay Married on Radio 4’s morning show, Today, Jilly Cooper, 81, says: ‘I had a sleeping pill, I am talking an awful lot of rubbish.’ Host John Humphrys responds: ‘You never talk rubbish – never, never!’ Politicos gored by Humphrys must wish he always extended such courtesy. LABOUR’S unpopular deputy leader Tom Watson clashed with retired Blair mouthpiece Alastair Campbell on ITV’s Peston On Sunday, telling him: ‘You no longer decide Labour Party policy... I’m sorry about that, I know you’d like to.’ Background: As Gordon Brown’s bruiser, Watson fronted a coup to oust Blair – the so-called ‘curry house conspiracy’ – in 2006. This resulted in the PM (and Campbell) leaving No10 in 2007. DAME Diana Rigg, 79, says of her current appearance on the Broadway stage in My Fair Lady (playing Henry Higgins’ mother): ‘It’s the only offer I had. Let’s be truthful about this.’ As a dame, she can drop the usual luvvie pretensions about always being in demand. EUROPHILE Tory MP Kenneth Clarke, 77, discusses a recent lengthy meeting with Theresa May. But why would the Prime Minister bother? Is she hoping to convert him? That’s probably impossible. Or is he trying to convert her?