mostly david ephgrave

While the death of the Queen last week inevitably overshadowed the arrival of the new Tory Prime Minister, Liz Truss, I hope this won't lead to decreased scrutiny. It's hard to fathom that she's the most popular and competent candidate the Tories could rustle up to lead the UK, but I guess that's what happens when you leave the decision to 0.2% of the population. How can someone who sounds like she's voiced by Speak & Spell and curtseys like she didn't spot a dropped curb in front of her be in charge of our nuclear codes? Her speeches are more wooden than every Center Parcs put together, and the civil service nickname her the "human hand grenade", and yet she still nabs the top job. If nothing else, her promotion continues our ongoing Prime Ministerial decline. It's like watching The Doctor regenerate in the most budget way possible after switching from BBC1 to QVC. You can only fold a piece of paper seven times, and yet the Conservatives can p...

I'm feeling tense about the Government's proposed lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions in ten days. While I accept how difficult it is to find the sweet spot between balancing case numbers, the percentage of people already vaccinated, seasonal advantage and the economy, to choose now seems tenuous, particularly when not everyone's had their second dose. And to remove mandatory mask-wearing at the same time is just reckless. Surely keeping them a little longer is the perfect bridge between total lockdown and normality? People who take issue with wearing masks except for the medically exempt should grow up, frankly. I mean, seriously, what's the problem? It's an act of kindness to anyone with a compromised immune system. Imagine taking a packed bus ride to a chemotherapy appointment in fear of the highly transmissible delta variant. Wouldn't you feel safer if nearly everyone around you wore a mask? Catching the virus is still a matter of life or death. Should avo...

There’s been a lot of mockery of the festival Labour Live in the media lately, but imagine what the Tory equivalent would be like, with music from James Blunt, comedy from Jim Davidson - and lectures on keeping your hair as soft as goose-down from Boris Johnson, how to form all opinions from a point of utter ignorance from Katie Hopkins and how not to change a nappy from Jacob Rees-Mogg. Not everything has to be an instant landslide success to be valid; at least the Labour Party are trying to connect with younger supporters, and while it’s not had the massive interest they might have hoped, even the most lackadaisical Labour arts event would cack all over a Conservative one; and if the Tories need a social gathering, wasn’t Thatcher’s funeral enough? I just find the Tories so out-of-step. Take my local MP Bim Afolami for example, who’s on Twitter and Facebook, but practically in a broadcast only sense. He also manages to smile identically in every ...

From my personal political standpoint, today was a very depressing day.  I got home from packing up Mostly Comedy late last night, shattered by the events of the day; so much so that I barely remember writing my blog, as I was falling asleep as I did it. Literally; I woke up on my sofa at 5am, with my cat on my lap and a crick in my neck - but no sooner had I checked the BBC News website and seen the lay of the land Re. the Referendum than I knew I wouldn't get back to sleep easily. The political landscape had changed in a day; the deal that was struck six years before my birth was unravelling: Britain was about to leave the EU.  I watched Tuesday's BBC Referendum debate with irritation. Were we not supposed to notice the Leave campaign's decision to use the soundbite "take back control" in answer to very question?; a statement that's as vacuous as it's lacking in substance or meaning. Were we meant to be oblivious to the thin veneer between Boris Johnso...

As soon as I saw a picture of David Cameron wearing a jumper, I knew he spoke for me. Until yesterday, I’d only seen him in a suit; save that time he wore a wetsuit, which is best forgotten. Don’t Google it. Even that was a suit of sorts. Look at its name. Got it? Good.   The fact that he’s so meticulously turned out made me assume he represented a different social strata (that was until I caught myself using the word ‘strata’ and realised I’m pompous and aspirational myself). Everything about him – the privileged background, the time at Eton and Oxford, the long waxy face – suggested he could never work for me. Then he went casual. He slipped his sweater on and his tie off. He did speeches with people behind him. He proved he could lead the way. Who cares that Dave's a Tory. Who cares about the fivehead. He owns a jumper: give him a break.  (Don't vote for him though.)

This morning, I sorted out some old clothes to put outside my flat for a charity collection. While I donated a lot, I stopped short of giving them this: 'Trendy' In case you don't recognise him, that's the Right Honourable Peter Lilley MP. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to iron a transfer of an ex-Tory Cabinet Minister's face onto a t-shirt and keep it screwed up in a bag for six years, there's your answer. He seems to be covered in blisters. He looks like the guy in the painting in Ghostbusters II. Terrifying.   I should probably explain why I have it. In 2008, Doggett & Ephgrave were asked by the Hitchin Rotary Club to do a short skit at a local event. What they wanted was very specific: a sketch based on the lesser-known Who song Pictures of Lilly featuring our MP Peter Lilley. We might not have said yes, if we hadn’t needed to raise a fortune for our first Edinburgh Festival. Hitchin's excellent To...