Monday, 06 October 2025

Politician proud of country

THE Rt Hon Nadhim Zahawi’s phone rang one evening. “Your country needs you. You will be my Beaverbrook. You will lead the vaccine programme.” Nadhim agreed on one condition. “I’ve got to be able to speak with your authority and make quick decisions.” It worked.

Nadhim, impeccably turned out with trendy glasses, neat beard and cufflinks, was talking about the moment Boris Johnson rang him at the beginning of the pandemic.

All this was a long way off for the boy from Baghdad. Nadhim came to the UK aged 11. Speaking no English, he found London cold, wet and miserable. But it got better quickly and soon he was surrounded by English friends. His parents took pride in assimilating and absorbed the culture. Nadhim thinks Britain is one of the best countries in the world.

Nadhim’s career included 10 years at YouGov and 14 years in politics. He still pinches himself that he became an MP for Stratford-upon-Avon and lived at 11 Downing Street as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

In the Iraq of Nadhim’s childhood, Saddam Hussein loomed large, following the ways of the East German Stasi. Nadhim describes a police state with level of surveillance and an ability to control minds. If a child said the wrong thing, the teacher would write a report.

His mischievous aunt Samira made a joke about Saddam Hussein in a library. The librarian wrote a report. Samira was taken away for 10 days. When she returned, she was unrecognisable and barely able to speak.

Later, Samira’s husband told Nadhim’s father he had hours to leave the country. An employee had written a report. Nadhim’s father had been importing British materials for his construction business.

At Baghdad airport, Nadhim had to behave normally. Everyone was watching everyone else. His father reached England and in Iraq, his mother sold everything and they joined his father after six months.

Nadhim displayed plenty of bonhomie and a winning (if disarming) smile, which he needed when interviewer Iain Dale threw in a few cutting remarks. Nadhim had to explain his way out of more than one corner.

To finish on a Nadhim nugget — there are no superhumans in life or politics. People are human and make mistakes.

Laura Basden

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