What are the rules for the Prime Minister’s partner?
A passionate speech at Birdfair shows that the conservation campaigner will carry on doing what she does best, says Joe Shute
Ever since Carrie Symonds started dating Boris Johnson, her friends have affectionately called her Flotus – the acronym for First Lady of the US. However, when the Prime Minister assumed office last month it at first appeared that his 31-year-old girlfriend intended to keep a low profile.
When Mr Johnson delivered his opening address outside 10 Downing Street she stood expressionless among staff on the sidelines, a mirror image of Philip May at previous prime ministerial lectern moments – albeit in a pink £120 Ghost dress which promptly sold out within hours.
But if anybody presumed she would follow Mr May’s lead as prime ministerial consort – supportive but content to stay in the shadows – that notion has been firmly debunked.
Over recent days Miss Symonds has made clear exactly the sort of public figure she intends to become. Her Friday night appearance at Birdfair – dubbed the Glastonbury of birdwatching – capped off a week in which the former director of Conservative communications turned conservationist strode confidently out into the limelight, clearly intent on campaigning over the issues she cares about.
Addressing the crowd in a rainlashed marquee by Rutland Water in a £225 recycled cotton dress made by the British designer Justine Tabak, she laid into trophy hunters and stressed the “gigantic responsibility” politicians and business leaders have to the environment. She was warmly received by an audience who previously had been listening to a lecture on differentiating between warbler species.
Dominic Dyer, the Birdfair organiser, let slip she was preparing a speech with him on Wednesday afternoon by tweeting a photograph of Downing Street’s famous cat, Larry. Mr Dyer, who is chief executive of the Badger Trust, also seemed to confirm rumours that Mr Johnson and Miss Symonds were about to install a rescue dog in the four-bedroom flat they have recently moved into above No 11 Downing Street – previously occupied by the Mays and the Camerons.
Introducing her on stage, he did nothing to debunk the notion she would continue her campaigning in Downing Street. “Whatever your political views, having such a passionate wildlife and animal welfare campaigner in Downing Street is to be welcomed,” he said, describing her as an “important influence and importance voice”.
Miss Symonds is the first female prime ministerial consort since Norma Major not to have her own taxpayerfunded office in Downing Street. Samantha Cameron, Sarah Brown and Cherie Blair all had full-time staff who would assist with media enquiries, organise their diaries and help host charity events.
Cherie Blair even boasted her own “social unit” in Downing Street, and paid privately for styling and fitness advice from a “lifestyle guru”. Samantha Cameron employed public relations executive Isabel Spearman as an adviser and unofficial chief of staff.
There have been suggestions in some quarters that the lack of staff is due to sensitivity over Miss Symonds’ unmarried status. There is, after all, simply no precedent for a First Girlfriend, let alone a 31-year-old one (leaving aside the fictional character in
‘Carrie is totally a Westminster player. That spooks some of the MPs and advisers’
Richard Curtis’s Love Actually).
But having worked her way up to be director of Conservative Party communications before her 30th birthday, as well as previously being special adviser to two secretaries of state, Miss Symonds arguably has less need for help navigating the corridors of power. It has also emerged that she is receiving unofficial counsel. Prior to moving into Downing Street, it is understood she made contact with Mrs Cameron – who lived there from 2010 to 2016. When the news emerged, a friend confirmed: “Sam Cam has been giving Carrie some advice. They’re friends; she wants to help out.”
Perhaps her decision to carry on campaigning is the result of such advice. When her husband first became leader of the Conservative Party in 2005, Mrs Cameron was creative director at luxury stationery firm Smythson and she continued to consult for them during his time in office. Initially, she seemed reluctant to take on a public-facing role, but soon changed tack, understanding she could make a real difference to the causes she was passionate about.
Miss Symonds is expected to wield significant political clout behind the scenes. She remains a senior adviser for Oceana, the largest non-governmental body solely dedicated to ocean conservation, and leads their communications for their global plastic waste campaign.
She is close friends with Zac Goldsmith, the Tory MP and former editor of The Ecologist magazine, and is thought to have influenced senior Tories to pick up positive environmental policies during her stint at Conservative HQ. Throughout the leadership campaign she also played a key role alongside Mr Johnson’s allies Grant Shapps and Gavin Williamson (the new Transport and Education Secretaries), persuading Tory MPs to vote for him.
According to one Westminster insider, Miss Symonds is increasingly perceived as an “all-powerful behind-the-scenes figure” of equal importance, even, to the Prime Minister’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.
“None of the prime ministerial spouses have been a political operator before,” says the source. “Carrie is totally a Westminster player. That definitely spooks some of the MPs and advisers.”
However, writing in Grazia earlier this month, her close friend Nimco Ali, the FGM campaigner, insisted she would not seek to exert undue influence. “She’s very independent, and also has no desire for the limelight,” Ali wrote, adding: “Although, if Boris is inclined to do a bit more on the very important issues that Carrie cares about so strongly, how could that be a bad thing?”
She has retained refreshing control over her social media, in the past week alone posting messages on Twitter ranging from condemning elephant poaching to questioning Wirral council for spraying herbicide on Hoylake Beach. “Mad”, is how she described the latter.
Last Wednesday, Miss Symonds attended an event at the exclusive Conduit Club in Mayfair, discussing how to reduce plastic waste. The invitation-only members’ club bills itself as combining luxury with a desire for social and environmental change. Founder Paul Van Zyl says it introduces “exceptional people with a sense of purpose”.
In her first week of official duties, she has also proven herself more than capable of fulfilling the traditional role of prime ministerial companion. In their first official appearance together at 10 Downing Street, she and Mr Johnson entertained staff from six hospices. She was photographed laughing with attendees and tweeted it was “such a privilege to meet so many inspiring people who do such incredible work”.
Prior to moving into Downing Street, the couple were said to have bought a £1.3 million house in Camberwell. Friends described the purchase as a “pragmatic” move, not least because it allowed Miss Symonds a space to retreat to from the Westminster pressure cooker if it all got too much.
If her first week in office is anything to go by, I wouldn’t hold your breath on that taxi being called.