Meet Jennie the golden retriever – honorary 73rd Liberal Democrat MP, who has her own press officer and may need extra security after becoming a social media sensation.
Always by the side of her owner, the new MP for Torbay, Steve Darling, guide dog Jennie has taken to House of Commons life swimmingly and is quickly attracting legions of fans. Her account on X already has more than 18,000 followers and she is often recognised around parliament and on the tube.
Navigating her severely sight impaired owner around the Palace of Westminster, described by Darling as “like a three-dimensional maze”, has had some challenges but Jennie has been quick to pick it up.
“We’re getting used to different commands like finding the cloakroom, finding Westminster Hall, and also finding the chamber,” he said. “She will often be very keen to take me back to the chamber because she thinks ‘we always go here and I get to lie down for quite a period of time’. She likes banking as much rest in as possible, so the chamber is a good place to lie down and relax.”
But her favourite place is the House of Commons tearooms where “there’s the possibility of finding some food on the floor”, he said.
She has also taken to life in London, Darling said, even the busy streets around Parliament Square and Whitehall that she must traverse to get to the Commons, and there are plenty of parks to stop at en route.
“She is getting a good bit of free running in the parks,” said Darling. “However, because Jennie has been a bit of a sensation, you do begin to worry about her own personal security as well. So that’s something that we’re thinking about, not making it obvious where she might be running just in case there are bad people out there.”
Jennie has also been making friends with the other animals who live around parliament – or trying to. She came across Larry the cat on a visit to No 10 Downing Street last week to deliver a petition, and was quickly “fixated”, Darling said.
“It was a bit like When Harry Met Sally, but When Larry Met Jennie,” he said. “She was staring up at the window and Larry was pretending to look out but I was told he had his eyes closed.”
Jennie is by no means the first guide dog to pad the floors of parliament, with the former Labour MP David Blunkett bringing the first guide dog to parliament in 1987.
Teddy blazed a tail by becoming the first dog to be allowed on the floor of the Commons’ chamber, and Blunkett said they “learned by trial and error to find our way through the vast maze of corridors and staircases”.
He was followed over the decades by other dogs including Offer, Lucy, Sadie, Cosby, and now Barley, who navigates Blunkett around the House of Lords where he now sits.
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The Conservative peer Chris Holmes also has a guide dog in the upper house, and the two dogs have struggled to put their political differences aside on occasion.
“Although Chris Holmes and I get on very well, our dogs don’t – when they’ve passed each other just after a vote, there’s been a bit of growling and a little bit of knocking about,” Blunkett said last year.
Thanks to these previous guide dogs, there was already provisions for Jennie when she arrived in July – including special areas in corners of the estate for her to relieve herself and avoid any nasty surprises during a long debate.
Disability access across the site is generally good, said Darling, who describes his vision as “like looking through frosted glass”.
But he hopes Jennie and her popularity can improve things for future staff and MPs through increased awareness of accessibility needs, as well as bringing a boost to his political party.
“We’re hoping Jennie can do her best to catch up Larry the cat with his 800,000 followers,” Darling said. “She has been called the 73rd Liberal Democratic MP, and she has her own press person in the Lib Dem press office, who manages her inquiries because we’ve had so many.
“She’s a really great force for positivity.”