Lucy Vickery

Spectator competition winners: songs for a parliamentary songbook

‘They seek him here, they seek him there…’ Credit: Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/ WPA Pool/Getty Images 
issue 12 August 2023

In Competition No. 3311, you were invited to submit a song suitable for inclusion in a parliamentary songbook.

In an entry in which most scored pleasingly high on singability, W.S. Gilbert rubbed shoulders with Simon & Garfunkel and the Kinks. An honourable mention to Emily Matthews, but leading the winners below, who take £30 each, is Bill Greenwell’s twist on ‘Dedicated Follower of Fashion’.

The Speaker’s here, the Speaker’s there,
His breeches tight against his Chair –
He may name and shame you, so he’s rarely second-guessed
For he’s a venerated model of dispassion
And when you catch his beady eye
He calls you up, voice extra-dry
Listening...





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