STOCKS & SHARES 14

The House was noisy, excitable, a clamour of voices competed with each other for Madame Speaker’s attention. The lady herself was adept at ignoring the considerable noise such egos made to bring attention to themselves, and had already made her mind up to call upon one of the new arrivals in the House to make their maiden speech.

“Mr Jonathan Charles” she intoned decisively, then sat down with a flourish that brooked no opposition. In any case, the cheers rang out from the Tory side of the House to welcome the new MP to his seat while at the same time reminding the Labour side who exactly had won the by-election. Jonathan Charles rose, soaking up the electric atmosphere, the air of expectancy, which greeted his every utterance – his reputation had preceded him. He was wise enough to realise that this was a tricky moment, he had to strike a fine balance between making an impression, without seeming too immodest or over-confident.