My dog ‘deeply resentful’ at focus on Parliament’s newest pup, jokes Blunkett

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A blind peer has joked that his guide dog is “deeply resentful” about Parliament’s newest assistance pup receiving more publicity than him.

Lord Blunkett is accompanied in the House of Lords by Barley, a black retriever-German shepherd cross who is the Labour former cabinet minister’s seventh guide dog.

But attention in the Palace of Westminster in recent weeks has been focused on the newest guide dog on the estate, Jennie, who assists recently elected Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling (Torbay).

The four-year-old golden retriever has been dubbed the honorary 73rd Lib Dem MP on the Commons benches and has featured in several newspaper articles and television appearances.

Speaking during a Lords debate on providing support for infants and parents, Lord Blunkett said it was a “no-brainer” to provide information from conception to age two to help set the foundations for a baby.

He said: “This is acknowledged and supported by parties of all persuasions.

“I notice that the new MP for Torbay put a question down very quickly on this issue.”

To laughter, Lord Blunkett then joked: “I also notice that his dog got a lot more publicity than mine, for which my dog is deeply resentful.”

Mr Darling told the PA news agency: “You know what they say about politics, it’s a dog eat dog world.

“David shared some good advice with me in my first week of Parliament, so Jennie would be happy to return the favour with some PR tips for Barley. She has a lot of respect for him as an experienced guide dog in Parliament.”