Miriam Margolyes, the 85-year-old actor, has declared that the country of her birth has “lost its heart” and that today’s political climate feels like “the worst yet” in her lifetime. In an extract from her new book, Miriam’s Full English, published by John Murray on 3 September at £25, she reflects on her journey from teenage Tory candidate to committed leftist and urges Britons not to give up the fight against the “bad guys”.
From teenage Tory to left-wing convert
Margolyes recalls that in May 1955, aged 14 and in the upper fourth at Oxford High School, she stood as the Conservative candidate in a mock general election. Her parents, both devoted followers of Winston Churchill, were delighted. “I was an old-school Tory and definitely pro capital punishment, so I dread to think,” she writes. She won the vote, but later credited two left-wing families – the Peppins and the Hodgkins – with turning her towards socialism. “I made a U-turn in the direction of sanity and humanity, and have never looked back,” she says.
The actor notes that Lawrence Turner, the Tory who won the real Oxford constituency that year, later voted for the Suez invasion, spent more than he earned, and went bankrupt. His final parliamentary act was a failed petition to preserve the copyright of WS Gilbert’s words, which expired in 1961.
Fascism’s British roots and the threat today
Margolyes traces the rise of the far right in Britain to Rotha Lintorn-Orman, who founded the British Fascisti in 1923. Born in Kensington in 1895 into wealth, Lintorn-Orman served as an ambulance driver in the first world war and was decorated for valour. Her organisation eventually died out, but fascism lived on through Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts and, she argues, continues today with figures like Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage.
She singles out Farage, calling him “the Odious Niggle” and noting that he received £5m for his safety and obtained German citizenship for his sons. “There is a widespread fear that Farage could succeed to the leadership; the kingdom is teetering on the brink of annihilation,” she writes. Yet she insists, “It’s not too late.”
A plea for truth and laughter
Margolyes criticises the media and politicians for “fearmongering and misinformation” and advises readers to “think for ourselves, debunk the deceits and sort the sheep from the goats”. She quotes her mother’s advice, “speak as you find”, and argues that what unites Britons is greater than what divides them.
She also reflects on the hostility between the UK’s nations, sharing jokes about the English, Welsh, Scots and Irish, and notes that Brits are even less popular abroad. She lists unflattering nicknames for the British, from the Roman “Brittunculi” to the German “Inselaffen” and the French “les rosbifs”.
Margolyes concludes with a call to action: “Let’s have a laugh. It’s the antidote (and all the ammunition) we need to those arseholes who forget that Britain was great before they were born.” She adds, “It’s time to be Great Britain again – or at least Better Britain.”
