Kelly It’s a jungle out there...
Jeremy can do.”
Then came the exit poll prediction that subsequently proved accurate which revealed the Tories would not win a majority as everyone believed. Most damning for Kinnock was his response to the exit poll and the camera proved a mirror into Kinnock’s political soul.
While other MPs featured were also no fans of Corbyn, they at least expressed delight at the unexpected result.
With the camera pointed at Kinnock his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. You could almost hear the cogs in his brain turning as he considered what impact it would have on his political ambitions.
At his constituency count the news teams were keen to talk to him about the result and what it meant as he was one of Corbyn’s fiercest critics.
Kinnock, as Modell said rather drily, was happy to oblige.
There followed documentary gold. As Kinnock gets wired up for the interview his wife, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a former Prime Minister of Denmark no less, asks in a stage whisper “Why are you doing this now?”
“Umm...I don’t know.” he replied. “What are you going to say?”
He didn’t seem sure about that either. She tells him not to mention Corbyn and concentrate on what’s happened with his vote.
As the film maker pointed out, Helle an experienced politician, had spotted danger. Which brings me to the fourth similarity with his dad - that some thought the political brain in his house was Neil’s wife Glenys.
Politics can be cruel - it’s a jungle out there, as Kezia Dugdale will soon find out.
Stephen Kinnock and his wife Helle ThorningSchmidt arrive for a reception at Buckingham Palace