Now that the General Election is all over, there will be a few politicians deciding what to do next after resigning or losing their seat in parliament.
Bookmakers William Hill have opened the betting for who will appear in this year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing, and – surprise, surprise – the list of contenders features quite a few former MPs and political leaders.
Among those most likely to take part in BBC1’s celebrity dancing competition is Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, who lost his seat in the election and has odds of 8/1. His defeat brought back memories of the 1997 election when the then Conservative MP Michael Portillo lost his safe parliamentary seat. Now a journalist and political commentator, Portillo is also on the list with odds of 14/1.
Also on the list are: Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy and Danny Alexander, who both lost their seats to the SNP in Thursday’s election and have odds of 16/1. Meanwhile, former Labour leader Ed Miliband and former leader of the Lib Dems and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who both have odds of 25/1.
It wouldn’t be the first time that a former politician has taken part in the show. Former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister Ann Widdecombe took part in the 2010 series, and Edwina Currie, also a former MP and Cabinet Minister, took part the following year.
It’s no surprise either that Nigel Farage, who quit as the UKIP leader, after failing to secure a seat in the polls, is also on the list. But it’s not just Strictly that could be an option for Mr Farage.
According to Mirror Online today, William Hill has told the website that the odds of Farage taking part in the next series of Celebrity Big Brother are 14/1, and the chances of him taking part in I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! are 50/1.
With the new series of Big Brother almost upon us, it won’t be long until the celebrity version of the show will follow so we wouldn’t be surprised if at least one out-of-work politician will be taking part.
And it wouldn’t be the first time that a politician has entered the house. In the 2006 series, George Galloway – who famously pretended to be Rula Lenska’s cat – was one of the famous housemates. Three years later, in 2009, Scottish MP Tommy Sheridan took part in the series.
