Polls Apart

by Clare Stephen-Johnston

  “Anna was a very obliging employee,” Sylvia had cryptically added. “She had no problem with the work and was good at keeping the customers happy.”

  Once Henry had finished reading the article – which had been spread over three pages – the two men had hastily prepared a statement in Richard’s name, designed to distance the Opposition leader from the allegations whilst simultaneously down-playing them.

  Richard and Henry had been satisfied that that statement would achieve its purpose, but the UK media had other ideas. The newspaper headlines spread over the meeting table that Monday morning screamed trouble at the three men gazing forlornly down at them: Democrats’ Whitewash on Lloyd Escort Girl Claims, one tabloid shouted, while another’s front page featured a large picture of Richard scowling (snapped over a year ago when he was papped leaving a restaurant) and reading: This Looks Tricky Dicky – SDP leader in a spin over wife’s escort past.

  Henry smiled unconvincingly at Richard and Ray: “Looks like our attempts to move the news agenda on haven’t quite taken hold yet.”

  “You’re a master of stating the bloody obvious,” sniped Ray. “Don’t you think you’d better tell us what you’re going to do to make up for the even deeper shit you’ve put Richard in?”

  “I’ve not put anyone in shit, Ray,” Henry hit back. “It would appear that it’s Anna who’s got us here.” Henry then turned on Richard: “Has she told you whether it’s true or not yet?”

  Richard continued to stare blankly at the newspapers in front of him: “She said parts of it are true.”

  “Parts? Which parts?” yelled Henry.

  “She worked for the escort agency but she didn’t shag anyone, all right.” Richard’s cheeks flushed with stress and embarrassment as he forced himself to look Henry in the eye.

  “Do us a favour, Henry,” Ray chipped in again, “and save us the self-righteous act. We’re supposed to be here as a team.”

  “Well, that’s a nice sentiment, Ray. But we need to establish all the facts and we need to think quickly. The truth is this isn’t going away, Richard. The way I see it you have two choices…”

  Richard continued to look at Henry although he was unsure whether he wanted to hear the options he was about to set out.

  “You can either stand by Anna and we tough this out, but risk it throwing the election campaign, or we ask her to step aside until the election’s over.”

  “What do you mean step aside?” asked Richard.

  “I mean you announce a separation which we’ll say is giving you some space to reflect on what’s happened and to focus on the campaign. The message will be loud and clear: No distractions.”

  “You’re asking Richard to chuck his wife out until we win in other words,” said Ray, before adding: “Do he and Anna get a say in this at all?”

  “Anna doesn’t, no,” smirked Henry. “But she’s in no position to argue right now. The best thing for everyone is if she takes a nice little holiday abroad until this blows over and lets us get on with the job in hand.”

  Ray turned to Richard, searching his face for clues as to what he could be thinking, but the opposition leader’s face remained blank. “I’ll back you whatever you decide to do, Richard,” he said.

  Then, just as Henry was about to try and force Richard’s hand, the door opened and Sandra bustled into the room, laden as usual with the stack of files she carried everywhere with her.

  “Sorry I’m late guys,” she said breezily, before slapping the files onto the table and taking a seat next to Henry. “What have I missed?”

  “You’ve just missed Henry suggesting I publicly dump Anna until the election’s over.” Richard said starkly.

  “And you don’t think that’s a good idea?” she asked, as though they were discussing a simple policy decision.

  “Well, do you?” Richard replied, surprised one of his closest confidantes had so readily sided with Henry whom she would usually go to the ends of the earth to avoid agreeing with.

  “I just don’t think we can carry her through this, Richard,” Sandra said. “Being totally blunt, Anna is a bit of a dead weight in our campaign. If she stays around, she’ll drag us down.”

  Richard ran his hands through his hair, which he thought must be thinning by the minute, as he fought for time. He felt like an animal trapped by a pack of hyenas. And he knew there was no escape. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Anna,” he said mournfully, head bowed.

  “Look, you’ve got a very busy and important day ahead of you,” said Henry. “Why don’t you let me brief Anna on where we’re up to, and you can talk to her properly later.”

  “Brief Anna on where we’re up to?” Ray raised his eyes to the ceiling, despairing at the lack of feeling Henry was displaying for Richard’s wife.

  “He’s right Ray,” said Sandra. “Now is not the time for Richard to be having a marital heart-to-heart when he’s got a major campaign speech in a few hours. Henry can talk Anna through what’s been discussed and we can get back to focusing on the job in hand.”

  Richard pushed out a quick, hard breath, before looking round his team. “Okay. That’s that decided. Let’s move on to what I’m saying this afternoon, can we? Every word counts so we need to get this absolutely right.”

  Anna curled up in her favourite armchair and selected the AllNews channel on the enormous flatscreen TV Richard had bought for himself as a Christmas present. Anna had thought it was the greatest monstrosity she’d ever seen when Richard had first lumbered through the front door carrying it – or attempting to – but as the months had passed she had stopped noticing its size to the point where it now looked quite neat to her in the corner of their living room. She turned the volume up as soon as she saw the words “Escort Claims Crisis” appear behind the presenter, Esther Yarleth. Anna bristled as she listened to Esther – a raven-haired, fiercely ambitious media darling who never missed an opportunity to flirt with Richard – clearly enjoying announcing their troubles to the world. “Social Democrat leader Richard Williams is due to make a speech during a visit to Bristol College this morning where he is expected to discuss embarrassing claims made in a Sunday newspaper about his wife’s past. The newspaper alleged that actress Anna Lloyd…”

  Anna turned the volume down again and peered through the cracks in the shutters onto the street outside where she could still make out the cluster of reporters and photographers camped out at the bottom of their driveway. They had been there since Sunday morning, seemingly only taking a few hours off to sleep, although even then there were usually a couple who lurked around overnight, just in case they missed Richard throwing Anna out the front door, followed by a sack of her belongings. So they hadn’t got that shot yet, Anna mused, but she knew Richard would be under pressure to do something to distance himself from the claims. The past forty-eight hours had marked the lowest point in their marriage by far – and there had been some real lows before that as he had been forced to get to grips with the enormity of her past.

  They had been getting ready for a charity dinner when Henry had called Richard on his mobile to deliver the news about the story that would shortly hit the streets. Anna had watched her husband’s face turn ashen white with a mixture of panic and anger as he absorbed the full implications of what he was being told. Henry had advised them to stay in the house and not answer the door or telephone until he got there. With those words he effectively sentenced the two of them to spend the next hour caged with each other while the British press set up stall outside. Richard had been too afraid to shout in case they heard him so instead he paced the floor, ranting quietly to himself over and over. “That’s it,” he kept saying. “Everything I’ve worked for – my and my family’s lifelong dream – gone. Just gone and there’s not a thing I can do about it.”

  Anna’s feelings lurched from overwhelming guilt about her past to uncontrollable anger at the fact Richard was being so insensitive to her. And as he paced in front of her for what must have been the hundredth time, sh
e finally snapped.

  “Some social conscience you’ve got, Richard. You preach about helping those in need, about us all being equal, but not in your own home. Poverty forced me to take that job, remember. We weren’t all born middle class, Richard. Some of us have had to sell ourselves just to get out of the shit into which we were landed.”

  She had cried then, long and hard. She had been humiliated and degraded in front of her husband and the whole country. But worst of all, she had been reminded. Richard had looked on anxiously for a while, before eventually kneeling in front of her and taking her head into his hands. “It’s not your fault, Anna. And I’m sorry if I made you feel that way. I know your life was hell. I just wish we could make people understand.”

  “Why can’t we?” Anna had asked. “Why don’t we just tell the truth about everything that happened? Then people would understand why I had to take a job like that.”

  Richard’s face had taken a stony turn. “We can’t do that,” he’d replied, shaking his head. “That’s just way too risky.”

  “So we just stay quiet and let the world think I’m a tart?” Her eyes explored his, urging him to see her position.

  “Henry will think of something,” was all he could muster in response.

  Sitting in her armchair staring at the rabble outside, Anna knew Richard had a choice. He could stand by her and use her plight to demonstrate just why the SDP had to win, or he could cut her off and put personal gain over just cause. She thought of the man she’d fallen for at the theatre awards ceremony seven years ago where Richard had presented Anna with her “Best Actress” trophy. It had not been the first time they’d met, but the difference that night was they were both single and looking for a new partner. She had been attracted by his sharp mind and sense of social justice, and he – so he had told her – had been instantly hooked on the sound of her laughter, her ease within her own skin, and the way she managed to turn the head of every other man in the room without seeming to notice. Anna had thought they made the perfect pair. They had talked of being an indestructible force in politics.

  Sitting in her armchair, waiting for her husband to make his announcement on the steps of Bristol College, she felt sure he would remember all they’d set out to conquer together. They would get through this, she knew they would.

  Henry glanced nervously at his watch as he waited for Richard to finish his meet and greet with the college staff and students. He needed to get clear of them within the next two minutes if they were to start the announcement by five-past one which would mean they’d get a live slot right at the top of the lunchtime news programmes. As Richard caught his eye, Henry nodded twice – their code for “time to get a move on” – and watched the opposition leader skilfully round up his brief chat with those assembled in the main lecture hall. But just as Henry started to relax into their plan, he was soon filled with horror as he realised he’d forgotten to call Anna to tell her what was happening. If he didn’t call her now, she’d have to find out from the TV news. He reached for his mobile and shook it in frustration when he realised there was no signal in the hall. He thought about quickly running out into the street, but he knew he would panic Richard if he did and cause them to miss their all-important time slot. It was a harsh decision, even by his own standards, but he’d just have to abandon the call to Anna. After all, he reasoned, she’d brought this situation on herself – and, worse, the party.

  Richard was by Henry’s side now as they made their way to the front door of the college, flanked by security and the ever-increasing team of press officers and aides who now accompanied the two men on each outing.

  “How did Anna take the news?” Richard asked, his eyes bulging slightly with the pressure of what lay before him.

  “Everything’s fine, Richard. Let’s focus on your speech and we’ll talk afterwards.”

  Henry heard Richard’s sharp intake of breath when they reached the doors of the college and were confronted by a sea of press all keenly waiting for an update on the state of his marriage.

  “You’ll be fine,” Henry whispered. “Just stick to the wording we agreed and don’t take questions.”

  Richard executed a well-practised “I’m in control” smile as he reached the podium at the top of the college steps. He cleared his throat before leaning in to the microphone.

  “Bristol College can be proud of its place as a centre for educational excellence; an achievement that was reflected in the enthusiasm of all the staff and students I met here this morning,” he began.

  “Every child and young person deserves the very best education but, sadly, still all too few will be privileged enough to benefit from state-of-the-art facilities such as the ones I have seen here today.”

  Richard remembered his speech training and deliberately slowed his next line down to accentuate every word. “It is my desire to change that. And it is my desire to make sure that every single child who has a career ambition will be given the very best chance of achieving it.”

  Richard paused for a moment, allowing his message to sink in with those watching and listening. He looked around the wall of cameras in front of him, hoping to make eye contact with every single viewer before he ventured further. Both he and Henry knew how important it was that they trusted him right now.

  “We cannot… will not, be distracted from our goals. Britain needs the Social Democratic Party and I will not stop until we deliver the very best for the people of this country. There will be challenges along the way – and there will be those who try to throw me off course. I spoke with my wife Anna this morning. She has been deeply hurt by the recent allegations thrown at her but she knows too that we cannot let such gossip stand in our way. She has decided today that she would like to withdraw from the glare of the cameras for the next few weeks, during which time I will be one hundred per cent focused on the task in hand. The task of renewal, of courage and of victory. I thank you.”

  Anna continued to stare into the screen long after she had turned the picture off. Her mind spun like cherries on a fruit machine as she tried to sort through what Richard’s statement actually meant for their marriage. By the time her thoughts had settled she was clear on the answer: she had just been dumped on national TV without even a hint of prior warning. Six years of marriage thrown away in an instant – all to save Richard’s face. She had thought when they’d talked things through the night before that she had convinced him they could come through this together. Before they switched the light out to go to sleep he had stroked her arm and said: “We’ll come out fighting tomorrow, Anna. We’re a winning team and it’ll take more than a shoddy little tabloid tale to finish us.”

  He’d got up at five thirty that morning and kissed her softly on the cheek as she lay dozing. She’d heard him confidently bidding the press pack outside a good morning before getting into his car and speeding off to the party HQ. Anna had told herself how lucky she was to be married to such a loyal man yet, just a few hours later, he’d betrayed her without so much as a goodbye.

  Her mobile rang on the coffee table in front of her and she saw Joy’s name flash up on the screen.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “Anna, I just saw Richard’s speech,” Joy said breathlessly like she was running to get somewhere. “I’m on my way over to pick you up.”

  “Where are we going?” replied Anna with the meekness and uncertainty of a small child.

  “You can’t stay where you are, Anna. You’ll be hounded. We need to get you somewhere safe and quiet where you can think things through. Do you have anywhere in mind?”

  Anna went quiet for a moment as she tried to think of a place she’d feel secure – and comfortable. Then it came to her. “I want to go to Libby’s,” she said. “I need to be with my sister.”

  4

  Lloyd Thrown Out of Marital Home, Claim Friends

  Tuesday 31st March, 2009, UK Newswire – The actress wife of SDP leader Richard Williams was forced to leave their home to save her husban
d’s political career, according to tabloid reports.

  In a speech on Monday, Williams said Anna Lloyd had “decided she would like to withdraw from the glare of the cameras”, but unnamed friends of the actress claim the announcement was made out of the blue and against her wishes.

  Williams was forced to make an announcement on the state of his marriage after allegations were printed in a Sunday newspaper claiming Lloyd had previously worked as a professional escort.

  The story came just days after Prime Minister Kelvin Davis announced a general election would be held on Wednesday, 6th May. The newspaper claimed that Lloyd worked for the Mademoiselles escort agency in 1994 for a period of six months.

  SDP spokesperson Henry Morton denied Lloyd had been forced into a separation saying her move from the marital home in the Highgate area of London had been a “joint decision”.

  He added: “As Richard Williams stated on Monday, Anna was very upset over recent newspaper allegations and decided she wanted a period of privacy away from the public spotlight. Richard supported her wishes and she was in no way forced to move out of their home.”

  When pressed on whether Lloyd’s move constituted an official separation, Morton said: “This is simply a practical solution which allows Anna some time away from the cameras whilst Richard gets on with the important job of winning the next general election – a task he is absolutely committed to carrying out for the people of this country.”