September 3rd 2024.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Leader of the Opposition, had a busy summer dealing with riots, international conflicts, and the struggling UK economy. However, amidst all of this, he also found time to negotiate with his family on a different matter - what new pet they would get now that they have moved into 10 Downing Street.
Initially, his daughter was set on getting a German Shepherd, but over the past few months, Sir Keir managed to persuade her to consider a Siberian kitten instead. And just yesterday, on Sir Keir's 62nd birthday, the new addition to the family arrived at their famous address, joining their current pet JoJo and the famous Chief Mouser Larry.
But the Starmers are not the only ones in Westminster with beloved pets. In fact, there are quite a few notable animals that have become a part of the political landscape. Let's take a look at some of them.
Sir Keir Starmer - Larry, Jojo, and the new kitten
Larry, the 17-year-old cat, is a well-known figure in Whitehall, having served under six prime ministers since his appointment in 2011. He was originally hired as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office by David Cameron when he was just four years old. It was recently revealed that plans have already been made for when Larry passes away.
In July, Larry had the opportunity to meet JoJo, the Starmer family cat, after the Labour Party's victory in the General Election. While it's unclear whether the two get along, Sir Keir has jokingly mentioned that JoJo is treated with more respect in their household than he is. However, his main concern with the new kitten is the challenge of installing a cat flap in the bomb-proof door of their new home.
Rishi Sunak - Nova
Rishi Sunak introduces his new pup Nova on Instagram
The Leader of the Opposition melted hearts when he introduced his new Fox Red Labrador Retriever, Nova, on Instagram while he was still Chancellor in June 2021. Just 16 months later, Nova joined the rest of the Sunak family at 10 Downing Street after Rishi became Prime Minister.
However, there was a bit of a stir when the family was spotted walking Nova without a lead in Hyde Park, right beside a sign that explicitly warned against doing so. It turns out, Nova is one of the 88% of British dogs that have a way of telling their owners when it's dinner time, according to recent research by Tails.com.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle - A full parliamentary menagerie
Sir Lindsay Hoyle with his pets - Betty, Boris, Maggie, Gordon, and Patrick
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has quite the collection of pets at Westminster. His Patterdale terrier, Betty, is named after the late former Speaker Betty Boothroyd, and his parrot, Boris, is named after ex-PM Boris Johnson. Boris is even trained to shout "order, order!".
Maggie, the tortoise, got her name from Sir Lindsay's belief that she's got a hard shell and isn't easily swayed. Sir Lindsay also previously had a cat and a dog named after two Labour veterans - Dennis and Gordon. Unfortunately, their cat Patrick, who was named after Tory peer Patrick Cormack, passed away in 2022.
Interestingly, both of Sir Lindsay's current cats are named after the same person - Clement Attlee, a trailblazing Labour PM. Clem, a black cat with Bengal markings, joined Maine Coon Attlee - the official head mouser of the Speaker - shortly after this year's election.
Guide dogs of Westminster
Jennie, the guide dog, regularly accompanies Steve Darling in the Commons
There are three parliamentarians in Westminster who rely on guide dogs to navigate their way around the city and beyond. The newest addition is Liberal Democrat Steve Darling, who was elected as the MP for Torbay in the July 4 General Election.
Jennie, his guide dog, is three-quarters golden retriever and one-quarter Labrador, and has already won the hearts of many since her first appearance in the House of Commons. In fact, her unofficial social media account gained almost 19,000 followers. However, Darling recently created an official account for her, @RtHonJen, to keep everyone updated on her adventures.
David Blunkett's black Labradors were also a common sight in the Commons during his time in New Labour. Now Lord Blunkett, his current guide dog, Barley, accompanies him in the House of Lords. Barley is also joined by Nancy, the guide dog for former Paralympic swimming champion Lord Holmes of Richmond.
Lord Blunkett shared that Barley has been in the House of Lords for over 6 years and has become a familiar figure in the corridors and committee rooms. He also mentioned that both Barley and Nancy had to adjust to the change in government from July 5, as they have to switch sides of the chamber with their owners. However, Lord Blunkett joked that he is the one having a harder time adjusting to being supportive of the government rather than being the "attack dog" from the opposition benches.
The animals of Downing Street through the years
Boris Johnson gives his dog Dilyn a kiss on election day in 2019
While it's not as common for UK prime ministers to bring pets to 10 Downing Street as it is for US presidents to bring pets to the White House, there have been a few notable pets over the years.
Before Nova, Rishi Sunak's pup, Boris Johnson made headlines for adopting a rescue Jack Russell cross named Dilyn a few months after becoming Prime Minister. Cats have also held official positions at Number 10 for decades, with the last simple pet being Harold Wilson's dog, Nemo, who accompanied the Labour leader during his two terms as PM.
Winston Churchill famously had a brown poodle named Rufus during World War II, who sadly passed away in 1947. He was then replaced by another poodle, Rufus II, who was buried alongside Rufus I in Chartwell when he died in 1962.
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