The outlandish talent of Robert Kilroy-Silk
When Robert Kilroy-Silk was elected as MP for Ormskirk in 1974, he marked himself out as being someone in a hurry. Confident and handsome, with a strong regional accent, the former Liverpool University lecturer announced, in a documentary made about his arrival at Westminster: "I want to be prime minister in 15 years."
In the event, he ended up standing down as an MP in 1986, ostensibly because he was weary of infighting within the Labour Party. In truth, he was on his way to starting a lucrative career in television: his long, sad, inevitable journey into middle-aged reaction had begun.
Yet the dream of glory remained. On the 2,000th edition of the Kilroy show, he was asked, "If you hadn't been doing this, what would you have been doing?"
"Oh, I'd have been prime minister," he replied, without hesitation.
In fact, Mr Kilroy-Silk did not leave politics behind altogether; in later years he wrote a rancid opinion column for the Express newspapers (one column resulted in media outrage and the abrupt termination of Kilroy) and he mounted a campaign to become leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip). Perhaps, if he had won the leadership of that august body, he would have become, if not again a potential prime minister-in-waiting, then a public figure with a role and position that would have enabled him to pontificate and influence public opinion. Tragically, he lost.
He now sits as an independent member of the European Parliament (he was a Ukip MEP until he fell out with the party). He is also, at the time of writing, in the Australian bush as a contestant on the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!.
It has been said that, by appearing on the programme, Mr Kilroy-Silk is lowering the dignity of the European Parliament. Perhaps, given his opinion of all things European, this was in fact his aim. Others might argue that the parliament is held in such low esteem that it has no dignity to lose; and that by disporting themselves on celebrity TV shows members may actually be raising the standing of MEPs, as voters might at least then discover who they are.
It has been said that all political careers are destined to end in failure. Yet it is a peculiar kind of failure indeed for a man who wanted to be prime minister to have ended up swallowing bugs and wilfully embracing humiliation in the Australian bush - and all for what? For fame? For attention? Robert, come home. Your country needs you.
