A bed-and-breakfast landlady who became a valued confidante of Mr William Hague yesterday described his resignation as a real loss to British politics.
Ms Doreen Whitehead, codenamed Mother Goose by Mr Hague, won fame for dispensing Yorkshire common sense to Mr Hague at her kitchen table.
Ms Whitehead became known as Mr Hague's sounding board and briefed the Tory leader on what the person in the street thought about key issues. "I just don't trust Portillo," she said. "I like Ann Widdecombe because she's down-to-earth like William and says what she means but I wouldn't like to say who should succeed him."