The martyrdom of St Oona posted by bat020

The Times, July 26, 2005

King: may be offered peerage

Oona King, the Labour rose who wilted under the onslaught of George Galloway at the election, may be returning to Parliament sooner than anticipated.

King’s loss to the Respect founder in one of the bloodiest election battles was mourned by leading Labour ministers such as Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary. Now she may be offered a peerage to soften the blow.

It is an option being canvassed at Labour’s headquarters in Old Queen Street and at Downing Street. King, a Labour loyalist, lost her seat because of her support for the war in Iraq.

While King has pledged to fight the constituency, a peerage, with the promise of a ministerial post, would be a convenient way to liberate herself from her commitment.

After the election King carried on as an unpaid social worker on her constituency casebook. But local Labour activists are convinced that Galloway, whose The Mother of all One-Man Shows will go to Edinburgh next month, will quit within a couple of years and trigger a by-election.

A friend of King, who is on holiday, said: “Some constituents used to call her their guardian angel. When she is back from holiday she will have to decide whether to carry on or go to the Lords.”