When she left parliament Edwina Currie embarked on a new career as a writer – and has a second volume of diaries out next week. Former home secretary Jacqui Smith lost her Redditch seat two years ago and is still adjusting. So what's an ex-politician to do? They talk to Susanna Rustin.
Susanna Rustin: What do you make of the old saw that all political careers end in failure?
Edwina Currie: It was Enoch Powell and I think he got it absolutely right. Either you've achieved your goals, in which case there's nothing left. Or you leave feeling there's something you wanted to do that you now won't be able to.
Jacqui Smith: It was pretty obvious that I was going to lose my seat, but I decided to fight it. In some ways I feel a bit hard done by because unless there are people willing to stand in seats where they're going to lose, you're not going to have a democracy. My kids thought it was hilarious that for a considerable period there was a headline on the BBC website that said "big losers" with a picture of me underneath it.
EC: At least you had your photo on the website. Of the 200 who lost our seats in 1997, think of all those whom nobody has heard of since.
SR: Tony Blair has been criticised this week for brokering a deal with the Qatari prime minister. Is this a suitable job for a former prime minister?
JS: Tony hasn't been able to win whatever he's done. It's difficult now people become leaders younger. If you're 50-odd when you finish being prime minister, you're not going to put your feet up. Tony's done a good job of a combining public service with earning a living.
EC: I can think of one recent prime minister whose reputation has improved since he left office, and he spends most of his time watching cricket.
SR: Has your Westminster career, including your affair with John Major, supplied material for your writing?
EC: Inevitably! When I lost my seat I knew that by the time we got back into power I would be a pensioner, so chasing a seat was going to be a hiding to nothing. Being an opposition backbencher is a rough life, and something I didn't contemplate, but I needed to earn a living. And one of the safest ways of earning a living is by your pen.
SR: At crucial moments in your careers did you think "this is one for the memoirs"?
JS: I didn't do that, nor did I – and sometimes I've kicked myself since – keep diaries. Nor did I sit at the cabinet table and make notes of interesting things that were happening. It used to drive me up the wall when people did that. But I don't think you're thinking ahead when you're in the middle of these things – you're too busy.
EC: I found it was cathartic after big meetings or rows with Margaret [Thatcher] when I was in the thick of it, to sit down afterwards and write. If I did that, I had a record, yes, but I'd also work out what I thought.
SR: Did you consider going back to teaching, Jacqui?
JS: It crossed my mind, but it would have been difficult with my profile. So then you think, I'm 13 years older than when I was last in the jobs market, what do I do? In my experience, it takes a long time.
SR: Do you miss politics?
EC: I'm involved as much as I want to be, which is quite a lot in Derbyshire. I do a bit of national stuff and some mentoring of candidates. One or two are ministers now. We're thrilled to bits and feel like they're our children. Other than that, I can say what the heck I like. There's a freedom about being a real person and not a politician.
JS: I think Tony Benn said he was leaving parliament to be more involved in politics. The fact that you are not in Westminster doesn't mean you stop campaigning. I don't miss parliament. By the end, the shine had gone.
But I loved being a minister, it's exciting and such an honour, and I miss that.
But I loved being a minister, it's exciting and such an honour, and I miss that.
EC: When you're a minister you have power, you can make things happen.
SR: Is there anyone you admire for what they have done post-Westminster?
EC: On my side, they all went off to run banks, and I'm not sure we should be proud of that.
JS: I admire some of those who removed themselves completely from public life. Sometimes I wonder about myself and the radio and other things. Is it that I am not willing to let go of having a public voice? Even though people might not take any notice of what you say, they do listen when you're in government. Sometimes I wonder if I am hankering after that influence.
SR: If we ever get an elected House of Lords then more politicians will be forced to find another way to make a living. Would that be good for politics?
EC: What are there, 826 of them these days? All friends of prime ministers one way or another. It's a disgrace. It should be reformed and substantially elected.
JS: Neither Edwina nor I are in the Lords. Most people who leave parliament don't go into the Lords, they go off and find other jobs, and are more or less successful in doing it. There is some interesting research about what happens to MPs after parliament and I feel reasonably lucky. People suffer depression and all sorts of problems.
SR: What have been the high and low points for you since leaving parliament?
EC: My husband is sitting opposite, mouthing "me". He's been the high point – getting married again and having a new life. Low point: worrying about money and not having a regular monthly income. It takes a strong personality to wriggle through and come up smiling.
JS: A low point has been feeling frustrated about things happening in my former constituency. One of the good things about being an MP is you can pick up a phone and expect somebody to listen. High point: when I stepped down as home secretary, my son, who was about 10, said: "Does that mean when we go on holiday you won't be on the phone the whole time?" When kids say things like that, you realise what your political life has meant for your relationship with them. So without doubt, the high point has been being with him as he goes into his teenage years and being able to enjoy the door-slamming, and the fun moments.
• Edwina Currie's Diaries Volume II: 1992-97 is published by Biteback Publishing next week. Jacqui Smith's book about home secretaries will be out next year.
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