Meet Jennie – Lib Dem MP Steve Darling’s guide dog who’s changing the face of politics

The most popular newcomer in parliament knows I’ve been eating bacon and sausages. Jennie leans on my knee and licks my hand. But she’s not fussy. She nibbles on the end of a banana which Steve Darling, the Liberal Democrat MP for whom Jennie is a guide dog, feeds her as she wiggles in excitement beneath the table.

As Darling and I munch on the breakfast served up in parliament (£2.75 for pretty much an entire full English), Jennie sits loyally at his feet. She’s not suited up in her guide dog’s uniform right now, so she can enjoy chilling.

The four-year-old golden retriever, who is a quarter Labrador, took social media by a storm when she made her first appearance in the House of Commons on 10 July, when Darling was sworn in as an MP.

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The X account set up in her name (@rthonjennie) has more than 17,000 followers weeks after it was launched. There’s the novelty of having a dog in parliament, of course – move over, Downing Street’s Larry the Cat – but it’s also about representation, which is vital for disabled people.

Jennie’s a welcome addition for parliamentary staff too, who rush to bring her a bowl of water which she gulps down with speed while we sit outside the Commons overlooking the Thames opposite the London Eye.

Security guards outside parliament – “scary men with big guns” – look at Jennie with adoration, as though she is their newborn child, Darling tells me.

Darling, who is registered blind, has been inundated with requests for interviews since he was elected the Lib Dem MP for Torbay in the general election. Or more specifically, Jennie has been inundated.

“She is… gregarious,” Darling says. “Her favourite form of transport is the tube because there are crowds of people she can work on and say hello to, and she’ll just go from one person to another to be loved and to lean against. She is very much a loving and loyal dog.”

Darling was born with a genetic eye disease and was partially sighted throughout childhood. Although he has been registered blind since he was 18 (he’s now 55), Jennie is his first guide dog. And she has changed his life.

“She means that I can get out and about. I can walk a lot faster than I did previously,” Darling says, telling me that Jennie is a fast guide dog, matched because he is a fast walker. “I always used to walk with a level of caution. And also, I think having Jennie means that I’ve perhaps had to confront my disability. Sometimes you have a sense of denial with a disability. 

“I never used to enjoy the idea of carrying a symbol cane. But carrying a symbol cane when I don’t have Jennie with me lets people know that if I blank them, that is why. Having a guide dog makes it more than obvious that there’s a visual impairment.”

Darling’s wife, who worked for the NHS for 36 years, is also registered blind and she too has a guide dog. Fortunately, the dogs get on beautifully – and they sometimes lean against each other when they sleep.

Jennie is more than just Darling’s guide dog now. It’s important representation in parliament, especially at a time when disabled people often feel forgotten or failed by politicians.

David Blunkett, who was home secretary under Tony Blair, is perhaps the best-known figure in politics to be registered blind, and his guide dogs were probably among the most prominent dogs in Britain, mixing with royalty at times.

There may now be at least nine MPs who identify as disabled, compared with as few as five under the last government – but with 650 MPs in total, disabled people remain underrepresented.

By comparison, one in four people in the UK are disabled, meaning that there should theoretically be more than 100 disabled MPs to achieve proper representation.

“I think the Commons is a lot more diverse now than it was – whether that be men and women, ethnically, sexuality, but disability can often be forgotten. I’ve had to battle my corner in politics occasionally,” Darling says.

As an MP, he wants a chance to fight for his community. On Monday (22 July) Darling handed in a Federation for the Blind petition against ‘floating bus stops’, which have a cycle lane between the stop and the pavement, and can be “terrifying” for disabled people.

He also wants better support for disabled people to get into employment, to ensure that “more employers are alive to disability issues”, and for the government to fix the “broken” benefits system which is trapping people in poverty.

He has received support, both as a councillor and MP, through the Access to Work scheme which funds a support worker for him – but he knows that others’ experiences have been less positive. 

“But equally, I don’t want my disability to define me,” he admits. “For me, I’m here as the champion of Torbay, which I see as being the premier resort in the United Kingdom. It is an absolutely lovely place, but it faces some wicked challenges. Sadly, we’re in the top quartile for levels of poverty in the country. We need to make sure that the new government is actually driving that positive change.”

Jennie sleeps quietly at Darling’s feet while he discusses the very important business of his demands for the new government, but she jumps up for a cuddle soon enough. Darling might be in parliament for his constituents, but Jennie is here for him and him only. Well him, and the breakfast, if she can get her paws on it.

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