ON many occasions, Thurrock MP Andrew Mackinlay reminded us of Patrick MacGoohan in The Prisoner. As MacGoohan rallied against the establishment in The Village so did Andrew in the Westminster Village.
“I will not pushed, filed, briefed, debriefed or numbered….my life is my own.”
It has been a glowing career since Andrew entered the House of Commons in 1992. Correction: Andrew has never seen it as a career but has seen his “job’ in the purest of forms. It so for these reasons, he has remained a parliamentarian, a backbencher committed to the truth. That has not made him popular with the establishment but that hasn’t worried Andrew unnecessarily.
Keen watchers of the parliamentary channel will recall Andrew as a tenacious figure, glasses on his head, dispatch papers spread over three seats defending the people of Thurrock, the people of Tierra Del Fuego and the health provision in the Isle of Man with equal vigour and passion.
YourThurrock’s Mike Jones went to the House of Commons to interview Andrew on his final day and reflect on his time in Westminster.
