Shabana Mahmood: lord chancellor with political nous unafraid to shake up system

Shabana Mahmood’s potential as a future cabinet minister was first noticed by the former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson in the 90s over tea and samosas at her family’s end-of-terrace Birmingham home. Watson, a seasoned fixer, had become a close friend of her father, Mahmood Ahmed, the chair of Birmingham Labour party. When political problems arose, Watson and fellow Labour party organisers would be guided through to comfy sofas in the family sitting room. He said the group, nearly all middle-aged men, would “start babbling” about the latest ructions and discuss how to negotiate multilayered West Midlands politics involving factions

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