The Spectator

Does Yvette Cooper want to be Labour’s Iron Lady?

On Wednesday night in the televised Labour leadership hustings, Yvette Cooper channeled Margaret Thatcher, saying:

‘I’m not standing because I want to be something, but because I want to do something.’

So is she trying to pose as Labour’s Iron Lady? After all, it was Thatcher who originally said that: ‘It used to be about trying to do something. Now it’s about trying to be someone.’ Here’s the conclusion that Melissa Kite came to in The Spectator, back in 2012:

In Yvette Cooper’s home, an entire room is given over to memorabilia of her husband’s life in politics. Pictures of Ed Balls hang on the walls and the room is kitted out with phone lines and computers so it can function as a nerve-centre for the shadow chancellor while he is working from home. Cooper’s office is a snug under the stairs. Anyone visiting might imagine that this was the home of a great political genius, dutifully supported by a mother of three.

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