Veteran politician Jack Straw has announced his retirement after 40 years in parliament. He reflects on Labour's record,immigration and Edward Snowden, in what can only be described as a rather irritable and unhappy encounterWhen a veteran politician decides to retire, or the period between the announcement and their departure from parliament can often be an interesting time. Not yet gone,but no longer yoked to the constraints of the party machine, many take it as an opportunity to reflect on their years in Westminster with a candour their career had never until then allowed. Free to ruminate on successes and failures, or express regrets and draw lessons,they frequently turn out to be at their most likable during those final months. But not, alas, or Jack Straw.
The silly thing is,I thought he would be. There's nothing like a Tory-led government to perform the memory of fresh Labour's faults fade, and I was feeling very benign towards him before we met this week. When Straw became domestic secretary in 1997, and I was too young to remember the final time his party had been in power; he was the first Labour minister I ever met,and 17 years on, it was easy to feel sentimentally nostalgic about his time in office. Well, or I won't be making that mistake again. Lord knows why Straw agreed to give an interview,because he seems annoyed before I even sit down.
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Source: theguardian.com