Meet Jennie, British MP's Golden Retriever Guide Dog Who Is The Newest Social Media Star
Steve Darling, a visually impaired Liberal Democrats MP, moves around with his guide dog Jennie, who is now a social media sensation. Jennie is a regular at House of Commons & has own press officer.
When Steve Darling was sworn in as MP from Torbay earlier this month, an unusual scene greeted those around and the viewers who watched the ceremony on their device screens. The newly elected legislator from the Liberal Democrat party, who is visually impaired, was accompanied by a dog. Jennie, the golden retriever, is the MP's guide dog who is always seen by his side and has since become a social media star.
Jennie is all over British media now.
A report in The Guardian introduced her as the “honorary 73rd Liberal Democrat MP, who has her own press officer”.
Jennie is a regular at the House of Commons, where she is earning a fan following, and has her own account on X (formerly Twitter) with over 18,000 followers.
The golden retriever from Torbay seems to be liking her new life in London, walking down its streets and travelling on the tube, though Darling fears for her safety since she has become “a bit of a sensation”.
“She is getting a good bit of free running in the parks (of London)... 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,” Darling told The Guardian.
This afternoon I joined other Lib Dem MPs @10DowningStreet to present a petition with @zerohour_uk pressuring the Government to make time for the Climate and Nature Bill #CANBill
— Steve Darling MP (@cllrsdarling) July 24, 2024
(Jennie just wanted to meet @Number10cat) https://t.co/jJTT5p27c6 pic.twitter.com/KtKeF9qMXh
Who Is Steve Darling?
The new MP of Torbay, a scenic coastal town in Davon county in south-west England, Steve Darling has been a local councillor for 30 years, and served four of these years as the Leader of the Council, according to the Liberal Democrats party's website.
He lives with his wife Mandy and they have two sons, both students.
Darling, who is registered blind, has also worked with former Liberal Democrat MP Adrian Sanders for 18 years, and his poll campaign focused on improvements in the UK's National Health Service, and support to the people of Torbay through the current cost-of-living crisis prevailing across the UK.
Incidentally, his wife Mandy has worked for the NHS for three decades, the website notes.
Darling is now among the 72 elected MPs from the Liberal Democrats party. The record result in the 2024 General Election has made Liberal Democrats the third-biggest party in the House of Commons.
Darling describes his vision as “like looking through frosted glass”, and Jennie is the guide he needs with him to navigate around the Palace of Westminster, which he calls "a three-dimensional maze”.
“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," he told The Guardian.
ALSO READ ON ABP LIVE | 10 Downing Street's 'Chief Mouser' Larry The Cat Sees 6th British PM in 14 Years
When Jennie Wanted To Meet Larry The Cat
There are other animals too, apart from Jennie, around the British Parliament, and the Steve Darling's guide dog is said to have been trying to make friends with them. Last week, during a visit to No. 10 Downing Street to deliver a petition, she encountered Larry the cat and became instantly "fixated", according to Darling.
"It was like 'When Harry Met Sally", but in this case it was "When Larry Met Jennie", he was quoted as saying. "She was staring up at the window, and Larry, pretending to look out, had his eyes closed."
When @rthonjennie met @Number10cat
— Caroline Voaden MP (@CarolineVoaden) July 24, 2024
She was very keen to get inside the black door to make friends.
Sadly Larry not interested in Jennie, or a gaggle of new Lib Dem MPs pic.twitter.com/WHkJW43epQ
Larry is the resident cat at 10, Downing Street, where the British prime minister stays. Brought by then PM David Cameron in 2011, reportedly to get rid of mice, the ageing 'Chief Mouser' has just had the sixth PM, Keir Starmer, joining him after a resounding mandate earlier this month.
Larry remains massively popular, with 8,00,000 followers on X. Darling hopes his guide dog Jennie will catch up with Larry soon.
Jennie, meanwhile, isn't the first guide dog to roam the halls of Parliament.
The first guide dog was brought by former Labour MP David Blunkett in 1987. Teddy was the first dog to be allowed on the Commons' chamber floor.
Following Teddy, according to the Guardian report, other guide dogs like Offer, Lucy, Sadie, Cosby, and now Barley have since helped Blunkett, who now sits in the House of Lords.
Conservative peer Chris Holmes also has a guide dog in the upper house.
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