Goodfellowe MP by Michael Dobbs

Author:Michael Dobbs [Michael Dobbs]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007373222
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1998-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

FIVE

‘Tom Goodfellowe, you show all the loyalty of an earl at an orgy.’

He had known the confrontation must come. Where there was an angry Whip, retribution could never lag far behind. Lillicrap had caught up with him later that evening in the ‘Aye’ lobby, the book-lined hall which runs along the west side of the House and through which Government Members were trooping to vote. Goodfellowe had hoped to sneak through unnoticed in the crush, but the division lobbies are like military encampments with eyes everywhere. Lillicrap had lain in wait and had brought along Stalybridge for solidarity, another Whip of excessive girth with the grin of an alligator, a man noted for his physical approach to conversation. The pair had intercepted their prey as he had waited in line to register his vote, and now propelled him to the more secluded reaches of one of the great bay windows.

Without preliminaries, Lillicrap launched straight into him. ‘We’ve got little enough time for this Bill as it is without you flouncing out of Committee.’

‘I didn’t flounce, I walked.’

‘What the hell d’you think you’re playing at?’

‘Lionel, I have a genuine concern. I don’t like the smell of this Committee.’

‘I don’t like the smell of pigsties but they have their uses. Anyroad, we didn’t put you on the Committee because of your delicate nostrils or your exotic insecurities. You’re a member of the Government Party and we want the Bill, so your job is to hold your nose and play the sodding game.’

Lillicrap’s index finger was stabbing repeatedly into his chest, forcing Goodfellowe to retreat. He found the solid edge of a writing desk at his back, no place to go, and Stalybridge was closing in. They had him surrounded.

‘Why is Breedon’s mind so firmly closed, Lionel, can you answer that? Might it have anything to do with the slightest twinge of guilt caused by his taking expensive trips courtesy of Freddy Corsa?’

‘You accusing him?’

‘No.’

‘You accusing Corsa?’

After the slightest hesitation: ‘No.’

‘Then what’s your problem? Breedon has no imagination. He has a mind like a rusted biscuit tin, he’s achieved bugger all for the last twenty years and his sex life keeps not only his women awake at nights but half the Whips’ Office awake as well. Yet he’s a loyal Government supporter. A fine parliamentarian. One of us.’

‘And Corsa?’

‘Didn’t you see what he did for us over that Earth Firm business? Between you and me, old chum, he timed the whole story for our convenience.’

‘Is that what we’ve come to? Government policy dependent on finding some wretched environmentalist with morals as loose as a beer-drinker’s bowels. Who cares? Did it make the slightest difference to the principle of the thing?’

At the mention of principle, both Whips gave an automatic and disparaging sigh. ‘Have you forgotten what it was like to stand at the Dispatch Box with all guns aimed at you?’

‘You’re beginning to remind me,’ Goodfellowe replied. He could smell Stalybridge’s dinner.

‘Breedon occasionally writes for newspapers. And occasionally the newspapers pay him for it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.