From effigy to ecstasy

Congratulations to Giles Dilnot who has been appointed the new editor of the centre-right blog, ConservativeHome.

Clearly delighted, he tweeted:

I have a bit of professional news I am very very pleased about. Journey starts today. Delighted and honoured to have been asked.

Once described as ‘the Imelda Marcos of political journalism’, Dilnot has big shoes to fill following the elevation of his predecessor to the House of Lords.

However, while Baron Goodman of Wycombe may be a former journalist and Conservative MP, Dilnot has a pretty impressive CV too.

A former BBC television presenter and reporter, he has also worked for the Legatum Institute, and the Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England.

More recently he was a special advisor to the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary.

Less well known, perhaps, his effigy was once paraded through the streets of Lewes before a ceremonial burning.

According to The Argus (November 8, 2004):

The Cliffe Bonfire Society created a replica of BBC newsreader Giles Dilnot on top of a ram - the symbol of Firle Bonfire Society.

Thousands lining the streets booed and hissed as the Cliffe Bonfire Society paraded the tableaux of the South-East Today presenter on a cart.

The society picked Mr Dilnot because they did not like some of the BBC's coverage of Firle Bonfire last year, when police arrested some members of the society on suspicion of inciting racial hatred after they burned an effigy of a gipsy caravan with a licence plate reading P1 KEY.

Fortunately, perhaps:

A last-minute change of route meant many of the estimated 45,000 people who flocked to Lewes did not see the model, which had taken three months to build using chicken wire, wood and papier-mache.

The good news is that Giles is in excellent company. Last year Rishi Sunak was one of the effigies at similar ‘bonfire celebrations’ in Lewes. Furthermore:

Past effigies have included prime ministers Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Tony Blair, Russia President Vladimir Putin and broadcaster Katie Hopkins.

Meanwhile, in Edenbridge, Kent, where another bonfire society has been organising celebrity effigies for over a quarter of a century, the public has also spoken.

In addition to Liz Truss and Boris Johnson, effigies have included London mayor Sadiq Khan, Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins, Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, Katie Price, Lance Armstrong, Anne Robinson and Saddam Hussein.

The big question is: whose effigies will be unveiled this year? Watch this space.