HARD LABOUR FOR CHIP OFF BLOCK JAMES
IN THE week leading up to the big day Shaun Edwards could not remember being more nervous.
“Two or three days before I didn’t sleep a wink hardly all night,” said the cross-code rugby legend. “Very similar to a huge Grand Slam game. Actually, it was more than that.”
What it was were the UK local elections and, specifically, the contest for Westminster where James SmallEdwards, his son with
M People singer Heather
Small, was standing as a Labour Party candidate.
“Secretly I always wanted you to become a politician,” Edwards told James, 25, in the build-up. “With rugby you can make people happy. With politics you can really make a difference.”
Until a week ago, Westminster had always been a Conservative borough. Labour had their work cut out.
“Having parents who are high achievers definitely brings a certain
by ALEX SPINK pressure,” James said. “But in equal measure, and probably even more so, it’s an inspiration.
“In March I was in Paris seeing dad win his fifth Six Nations Championship. I knew I was heading towards a day of judgment myself. Did that bring inspiration?
“Yeah, of course it did.”
Come election day, Edwards watched his son move into a different gear. “I saw real leadership in him,” he said. “Then again, he was a scrum-half. They know what they want, they get the best out of their forwards. James certainly got the best out of his team that day.”
He was one of three Labour members elected as Bayswater councillors.
James was quickly asked to become a deputy cabinet member.
“I’ve got quite a lot on my hands,” he said. “Our country definitely isn’t in as good a place as it could be. I want to play a role, no matter how small, in changing that.”