Liz and Tony ...class acts

I WAS sad to hear of the death of two great Labour supporters when I was at conference.

Liz Dawn and Tony Booth, two great working class actors, playing working class parts, in two famous working class shows – Coronation Street and Till

Death Us Do Part.

I had the privilege of joining

Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth, into the Labour Party some years ago.

They say politicians are really actors and I literally had a part to play with both Liz and Tony.

I did a Labour campaign show with Liz in Manchester where I played her famous husband Jack with the Elastoplast around the corners of my eyeglasses holding them together. Liz was a

I’m sad to hear the

BBC felt its Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg needed a bodyguard at conference. The delegates I met seemed a positive and friendly bunch. Maybe next time, the Beeb could save licence payers money and I’ll walk round with her

instead.

wonderful woman, committed not only as an actress but as a campaigner for Labour and the horrible consequences of cigarettes.

Tony Booth was similarly controversial, warm and never stopped having a go on behalf of poor people and Labour.

He was also father-in-law to Tony Blair and was never short of having a go at him – family or not.

But Booth and I were also a double act at Labour shows. He played the Scouse git and I was Alf Garnett, wearing bald cap and false moustache.

I must have played it too well because I was invited to West Ham, Garnett’s team, with the appropriate claret and blue scarf – and the fans cheered me.

I was proud to have acted with Liz and Tony.

And I bet somewhere up there, they’ll be having a drink or two to celebrate Labour’s performance on the big stage in Brighton.

Rest in peace, comrades.