The Politician's Wife (1995): Season 1, Episode 3 - Body Politic - full transcript

People said that
the frantic pace

that Margaret Thatcher
always worked

was a metabolic thing,
didn't they?

Duncan always said that
was her problem,

because it meant that
she never slowed down

to reflect on her actions.

He said it was that which
made her vulnerable.

I think it's
the opposite, Daddy.

I think that if you stop to
reflect on your actions,

then you start to doubt them.

And it's then that
you're vulnerable.



Do you remember the first time

that I brought Duncan
home to meet you?

While Mother and I
dead-headed the daffodils,

you and he sat closeted
in your study.

You barely came up for air,
did you?

And then when we left,
you took me to one side

and patted me on
the back and said,

"Well done, Flora.

Well done."

You thought I picked him,
didn't you?

I didn't.

He picked me.

You were part
of that, Daddy.

It was you that clinched it.



It was a trade off,
wasn't it?

He got his stake
in the Shires

and the use of your contacts.

You got the promise of
your name on an Honours List

at the end of the line.

And me...

I got to spend
the rest of my life

with the man I love.

Subtitling made possible by
Acorn Media

[Beeping]

SECRETARY:
Ministry for the Family.

It's me.
Did he call in yet?

Not yet, Mrs. Matlock.

I've left messages all over
Westminster for him.

Is there any change?

No. No change.

NEWSCASTER: Rachel Gold,
the Shadow Spokeswoman

on Home Affairs,
had this to say.

GOLD: Parents throughout
the country will be

outraged by this legislation.

And this from the party
that promotes itself

as the bastion
of family values.

And it's not just

the contents of
the proposed bill

which is so deeply immoral.

It's the fact
that Duncan Matlock,

with the collusion of
the prime minister

and the cabinet,
intended pushing this bill

through the House
via the guillotine system,

thus preventing any reasonable
period for proper debate.

He just insisted on coming.

I told him it was
no place for children.

Don't worry, Mrs. Lucas.

Um, there's a lot of wires
and machines and things, okay?

Talk to him.

They say he can hear even though
he can't show it.

Where's Daddy?

London.

PAUL: Hello, Grandad.

It's me, Paul.

What shall I say?

Anything, really.

It's just so he can
hear your voice.

[Footsteps]

Mrs. Matlock?

[Whispering]

[Respirator pumping]

Say goodbye, Paul.
They have to see him now.

PAUL: I'll see you, Grandad.

We'll play chess again.

Next time,
I'll let you win.

Okay?

Now tell Mrs. Lucas
to take you straight home,

and I'll be back
as soon as I can, okay?

Come on.

My lucky coin.

I was going to
give him my lucky coin!

MRS. LUCAS: Paull

Paul!

I wish they'd ship that wanker
out to Saudi as an ambassador.

What have you got?

The rumours were right.

The bloody '92 Committee
have shoved their oar in.

Usual bullshit --

whether the timing's right
for such sensitive legislation,

whether you're the right man now
to steer it through.

When the hell was all this?

Apparently they had a summit
in the whip's office last night,

after which the chief whip
had another with the PM,

and the party chairman,
at Number Ten.

The word is
the Tory terraces

have never been
more united in dissent.

How's the PM on it?

He prefers a retreat to a rout.

Public climb down?
Is he mad?

The press will hang
our bollocks out to dry.

Those we have left.

We have a week to
formulate the response.

You know what they say
about a week in politics.

We need a few
first division players

on our side
to pull it off.

More than a few.

Ian, you go round
the tea-rooms.

Drop a few well-chosen reminders
about my stance

on the single currency thing.

Rub their faces in the dirt
if you have to.

Report back
with a head count.

And while you're at it,
find out what you can --

-Mr. Matlock.
-Wait a minute.

Find out what you can about
that bloody leak.

I want it plugged.
ASAP.

Colin, you take on
Central Office,

soothe their poor
fevered brows.

We'll meet back at my office for
a strategy recce in one hour.

Yes.

Mr. Matlock, Mrs. Matlock rang
from the hospital again.

Your father-in-law died.

We, uh...

We'll catch you later.

Thank you.

[Telephone rings]

Hello?

Mrs. Lucas said
I'd find you there.

I'm so terribly sorry, love.

Are you okay?

They said that the stroke
was so massive that he'd...

So I agreed to withdraw
the life support.

Listen, darling,

I'm locked into
something here.

The second I see light
I'll be with you,

sooner if I can.

Can you cope until then?

Yes, of course I can cope.

The funeral, we...
should liaise.

There's people here
I'm sure would

want to pay their respects,
Sir Donald for one.

Party chairman
should get an invite.

I'll get Central Office to
draw up a list, fax it over.

Oh, I had hoped to make it
just family, Duncan.

Clive would want
the full works,

wouldn't he?

Full pomp
and party ceremony.

He'd be tickled pink.

He loved you, you know.

Perhaps more than anyone.

Yes, I know.

I'll have to find a way
of living with that.

How is she?

Oh, you know Flora,
best foot forward.

Let's start with a trawl

with his City chums
and Lodge members.

We can use them as ballast
to swell the ranks of mourners.

You anticipate that much
of a turn-out?

If we fine-tune it right.

A coup d'etat is like
a revolution, Mark.

It's not just
a question of allies,

but of the right arena.

What better venue than
the party faithful

gathered around the grave
of one of their own?

It can have a most
distorting effect,

having one's most callous
thoughts mirrored back at one.

You'll have to watch that.

[Protestors shouting]

-Mr. Matlock!
-I said it was him!

[Protestors shouting]

Excuse me, please.

Child Benefit is a lifeline
to millions of families!

Excuse me.

-Please.
-Maybe their only lifeline!

DUNCAN: And those families who
need it will continue to get it.

Bollocks they will!

The fact is, last year's
annual expenditure

on state benefits
exceeded £3 billion,

which is higher
in real terms --

[Protestors shouting]

Which is higher
in real terms --

Get out of my way.

You ain't got a clue,
have you?

I tell you,

when I find the bastard
who leaked that bill,

I'll flush his career
down the toilet

so fucking fast
he won't draw breath.

PROTESTOR: Bastard!

DUNCAN: We are here today

not just to honour
a good man

but a very special man.

A man who after a lifetime
of successfully running

the gauntlet of the city,

instead of taking off to
some sun-drenched villa

for a well-deserved rest
in the autumn of his life

stayed on in these damp climes

to devote himself to a cause
which he once told me

was the one true love
of his life,

the Conservative Party.

People make the mistake
of thinking that it's we,

the politicians,
who are the party.

They watch our spats in
Westminster and they cry,

"See? They're in disarray.

They are split by a chasm

as wide as
the San Andreas Fault."

What they are really seeing
is democracy at its best,

people who feel passionately
about an issue

stating their position publicly
without fear or favour.

What gives us
this confidence,

this... moral verve?

It is because we know that
the rock-bed of the party,

its core,
its very spirit is united

because it is composed of
people like my father-in-law.

I was proud to
call this man "Father."

I am proud that my children
carry his blood

in their veins.

I'm proud to
have this chance

to say to him, "Thank you,

not just for your selfless years
of service to the party

or your financial generosity

or your unerring wisdom,

but for the salutary reminder
that true power

lies with those
who never seek it."

Last Easter, Clive stood
where I am now to...

lead us in prayer.

He quoted from
the Epistle of St Paul.

"For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood,

but against principalities,
against powers,

against the rulers of
the darkness of this world,

against spiritual wickedness
in high places."

Amen, Clive.

With the light of
your memory to guide us,

rest assured
we will wrestle on

until the fight is won.

I thought it would all
be over by now.

I'm afraid we underestimated
his resilience.

Or overestimated our resources.

-ROSALIND: Ah.
-Oh, Mrs. Clegg.

Thank you so much for coming.

Your father, he was
a most worthy adversary.

I shall miss him.
We all will.

Yes, I agree.

Excuse me a moment.

We should have a little chat,
you and I.

Can I call you?

I look forward to it.

Oh, hello.

Thank you so much
for coming.

It's all right.

Donald, so good of you
to come.

Heavens, the very least
I could do.

Hello.

The last time I saw such
political glitterati

was at the opening of
the Euro Tunnel.

Well, I was rather hoping
to have just a family affair.

But, as you see,
I was overruled.

His eulogy was impressive.

Very affecting, yes.

But then, Duncan always can
cast a spell with his oratory.

Because he means what he says.

Every word of it.

It would be quite fatal
to think otherwise.

You know, it's like
a switch in his brain.

He literally
discovers the thought

as he articulates it.

And at that moment,
he utterly believes it,

even if he knows it
to be false.

He rides along on
this crest of adrenaline

and total conviction,
and his audience

gets swept along with him.

But afterwards,

he can barely remember
what it is he said.

It's like an actor shutting down
after a performance.

All those feelings,
that passion,

they die with the moment.

It's as if nothing of value
has any real permanence or...

Oh, look, you must think me
awful saying such things.

Much less thinking them.

Oh, it's a common enough
phenomena

in politics these days.

The legacy of the sound bite.

Heroic poses rather
lose their currency.

Well, yes,
that's what I'm afraid of.

I mean, it's his
Achilles' heel, isn't it?

He relies so totally on

the counterattack
of public oratory.

If he were ever
robbed of that,

I worry that he'll
have no defences.

SIR DONALD: Arguably,
portable outrage

is one definition of charisma.

FLORA: But a base metal
all the same.

SIR DONALD: One which
dazzled you.

FLORA: Well,
I wasn't alone in that, was 1?

May I ask you something?

Name it.

These headlines

and all these questions
about his integrity.

Have they damaged him much?

In the long term?

No, now.

His bill.

Well, his ministry.

The more sensitive
the legislation,

the more robust and respected
its advocates need to be.

The two go hand in hand.

And charisma is a liability?

It's a poor second
to statesmanship.

That's the PM's dilemma.

This bill was our chance
to smash one of

the sacred cows of
the welfare state.

Its symbolic significance
is enormous,

if only to finally
extinguish the Bevanite torch

in Walworth Road.

But Duncan must
surely see that.

If he did,
he'd tender his resignation

as Minister for the Family,

let us choose a more
appropriate ambassador

to navigate
the bill through.

Oh, he can be
so obdurate at times.

But, if he could be persuaded,
whoever accomplished it

would carry an enormous
debt of gratitude.

I know for a fact the PM would
express the same sentiment.

I've done something awful,
Mummy.

Marion Simpson at school --

She's a Catholic.

She says there's a place
called purgatory...

a kind of waiting room
between heaven and hell.

But she says there's
a bunch of prayers you can say

to get people's souls out
and into heaven.

I meant to say them
for Grandad ages ago,

being so old and everything.

I thought God could kind of
store them up for him

so that when he died,

he could bypass
purgatory altogether.

Except I forgot.

Well, you can
say them now, can't you?

What exactly is a soul?

Oh, um...

Well, it's the spiritual
part of you.

It's... It's...

It's the moral...

The moral part.

Darling,
when you say them,

say one for me, will you?

Say one for all of us.

Track down his hotel,
suggest breakfast.

His brain doesn't get into gear
before his noon cocktail.

I'll nail him
over his Kippers.

How do you get on with Tim?

I didn't get a chance,
did 1?

Every time I
tried to nobble him,

he darted off as if
his Y-fronts were on fire.

All right.

Jesus, it's like
wading through treacle.

Well, they all came.

That's a show
of solidarity, surely.

Clive was a major
party funder.

Anything less than
a full-Monty send-off

gets the great and good
clucking their tongues

like nothing else.

You're very palsy with
Sir Donald all of a sudden.

Well, he was, um...

He was asking me how committed
you are to the bill,

and to the ministry.

He didn't say
anything specific

and I may not have been
reading the runes right,

but I sort of got the idea
that he was sounding me out.

They've got something in mind
for you [ think, Duncan.

Something big.

Trade and Industry?
The F.O.? What?

Well, he didn't say.

He just said that
the PM didn't want

a full re-shuffle
before the summer

and that any other
ministerial options open to you

would be contingent on
your leaving

the Ministry for the Family.

Resigning.

Well, he said that
the magnanimity

of such a gesture
would not go unrewarded.

"Part of the package,"
I think he said.

I'd better call him,
talk to him.

No, darling, he's using me as
his emissary, isn't he?

Mmm? Isn't that how
these things work?

A word here,
a whisper there,

so that nothing
gets attributed?

Do you think that's why
he's been giving me

the deep-freeze treatment?

Has he been?

I need assurances.
Specifics.

I mean, he could bury me
out in Brussels.

I mean, in two years' time,

no one would even
remember my name.

Oh, I think they will.

If I renege on the bill
for a career move,

the Right will put
an exclusion zone around me.

Then it's Belgrano time.

I'll be sitting on
the back benches

until the millennium.

Well, I mean,
they seem to be

rather deserting you anyway.

That's what today's
bloody exercise

was all about,
wasn't it?

To win the bastards back.

Darling, listen.

Let me talk to
Sir Donald for you, mmm?

Try to get you
the reassurances that you need.

Then you can make
a really informed decision.

After all,
I do rather seem to, um,

have his ear.

Jesus, if I had a few more
like you behind me, Flora,

I'd be up on
the bloody summit by now

instead of clawing my way up
the rock face on my own.

You never mention it, do you?
My stupid thing with Jennifer.

If it had been
the other way round,

if it had been you who...

I don't think I could have...

got back from it.

Honestly, I don't.

And the sex has
never been better.

Just unbelievable.

You're like a different woman.

God, I love you, Flora.

If I didn't have you...

Hey, what is it?

What is it?

Close your eyes.

[Laughs]

Keep them closed.

I'm in control now.

Me...

Flora.

Good old Flora.

Dear old Flora.

It's her turn now.

Yes, it's your turn, my love.

God, I've waited
so long for...

[Telephone rings]

Oh, shit.

[Telephone rings]

Oh, no.

Undo us, will you?

Hello?

Yeah, but will he
go on record?

You know what
a limp-fisted wanker he is.

[Door closes]

What did he say?

Good to see you again.

Yes.

Those women from the nursery,
what number are they?

Um, number six.

How many will we
get through today?

Make them number 26.

Duncan,
I don't think that --

Just listen to me.

We should tell Roger there's no
rush in processing Clive's will.

If we procrastinate
long enough,

this whole absurd nursery thing
will go down the tubes

and Pangbourne Manor
will revert to you

with the rest of his estate.

Okay, ladies, on we go.

First one.

It's all about seeing
a window of opportunity

and going for it.

It's the name of the game,
my love.

[Indistinct conversation]

Would you, um...

would you excuse me
for one moment?

I'll -- I'll join you shortly.

Right, okay.

[Indistinct conversation]

ROSALIND: Oh.

How timely, I was going to
call you this evening.

Um, I've only got a moment.

I've got a pumpkin
competition to judge.

Will you --
will you walk with me?

ROSALIND: By all means.

-Excuse me.
-Excuse me.

I badly need your advice,
Rosalind.

Do you remember that
last week in the House,

Duncan said that he'd made
repeated efforts to get

the local council to take action
on that nursery closure.

Yes.

Well, he didn't.

Not once.

Either personally or in
his capacity as an MP.

And it's only
a matter of time before

the Liberal Democrat councillors
realize the political potential

of such a faux pas
and call the press, isn't it?

I just can't believe
he's been such a fool.

And I shudder to think
what the local party

will make of it
when they hear.

I just don't know what on earth
can be done about it.

Your husband must remedy
the situation, and quickly.

Well, you think it
can be remedied?

If he makes a public apology
to the House

for misleading them,
it might assuage the criticism.

But he'll have to do it quickly,
before the party is submitted

to yet more rabid headlines
about his integrity.

And if he declines
to apologize?

It'll be political kamikaze
if he doesn't.

I'll have to submit a motion
demanding his resignation

at the next
Association meeting.

Well, I'll have no choice,
Will I?

Well, sure it won't
come to that,

not once the gravity
of the situation

is explained to him.

Your pumpkins are waiting.

[Sighs]

Call me, darling.

Let me know
how you're doing.

Mmm?

Bye.

Mrs. Matlock.
I was hoping to catch you.

Listen, I'm afraid
Paul's boarding

isn't working out
quite as we'd hoped.

He's a solitary lad

and the others
mistake that for aloofness.

They -- they gang up
on him and, um,

I'm afraid his father,
being so much in the public eye,

gives them ammunition.

He won't come home.

I asked him again,
this weekend.

He's adamant.

But he will.

Soon he'll have
no reason not to.

Look after him for me
till then, will you?

Yes, of course.

I hope I'm not keeping you
from anything vital.

Only a tedious reception for
some cultural delegation

from Eastern Europe
at Number Ten,

which rather begs the question

that they actually
have a culture.

I hope that you're
not one of those

who kills the messenger,
Donald.

He just won't
hear of resigning.

I tried, but...

I'm sure you did.

That's in no doubt,
my dear.

He said something...

Now, what was it?

"Not without
the right inducements."

He wants another ministry.

And not just
any ministry.

He wants to choose it.

The man is hardly in
a position to barter.

I know.

We had the most fearful
to-do about it.

I just couldn't reach him.

His attitude is going to be

a great disappointment
to a lot of people.

Yes, I appreciate that.

He must be
extraordinarily sure

of his support
to make such a bid.

Well, that's the part that
I just don't understand.

I mean, his support must be
diminishing almost daily.

Hourly, from what I hear.

He must have some secret
weapon that we don't know about.

SIR DONALD: If he's
forced to resign,

he'll be entitled to
his day in court,

to speak out on it
in the House.

Presumably he thinks
the PM would want to

avoid the embarrassment of that
at whatever cost.

No, I can't believe he'd ever
contemplate such a thing.

SIR DONALD: Either that or

his imperative
is sheer arrogance.

Neither one
much commends him.

That was tactless.
I apologize.

Mind you,
I think that what

worries him most is
this Child Benefit thing

going in front of
the Select Committee.

Like they did over
the Pit Closures.

Well, it diffused all
the outrage, didn't it?

Gave everyone time to
recoup and regroup.

But Duncan just hates
Select Committees.

All those tedious questions
and cross-examinations.

He says it's like putting

your whole political career
on the line.

Not to mention robbing him

of the chance to use
his oratory skills.

Exactly.

Oh, dear.

I really haven't been
much help, have 1?

On the contrary, Flora.

I find all our conversations
most enlightening.

I keep telling myself that
what's good for the party

is good for Duncan
and that in confiding in you

I'm not being disloyal.

But...

I consider it
a great compliment, Flora,

and I assure you
I won't abuse it.

Oh, tell my driver we're going
back to Number Ten, will you?

[Beeping]

[Telephone rings]

Hello, Jennifer Caird.

That matter that we
talked about.

The lifting of your blockade
in Westminster?

I'm prepared to
talk about it now.

He's losing the fight,
isn't he?

So it seems, yes.

Listen, um,
I'm on my way back

to Mindemere
and the children.

I wondered...

It's so difficult for me to
keep dragging down to London.

Could you possibly
come up to Carlingham?

There's a very good hotel there,
the Rose and Crown.

I could book you a room.

Say, Friday night?

They have four-poster beds
and Jacuzzis.

You'll love it.

What did he say?

It's Trade and Industry.

Definitely?

Definitely.
But he said if you try

and get confirmation,
they'll deny it.

To a man.

Did he give any idea
of a time frame?

Well, he said
there is a possibility

that the bill
might have to go

in front of
a Select Committee first.

Oh, Jesus.

Just to give the PM time

to stage-manage things.

Let the media dust settle,
appease the wets.

-All of that.
-If it goes in front of

the Home Affairs Committee,
they'll roast me.

Well, by the time they report,
you'll be in the DTI,

won't you?

Aprés mois, et cetera.

There'll be other bills,
darling.

Trade and Industry.

It's a quantum leap.

Next stop the Exchequer?

Oh, I don't know.

There's a distinct whiff
about all this.

Well, he -- he did say
that the House

is like a tinder box.

Apparently the Whips
are ducking and diving

like prize fighters.

Anything's better than enforced
resignation, isn't it?

Ooh, I think I'd better
take a shower.

It's been quite a day,
one way and the other.

[Ringing tone]

[Telephone ringing]

Carlingham 9-8-2-1.

Mrs. Clegg?

Flora Matlock.

Listen, I spoke to Duncan
about that matter.

He absolutely refuses
to apologize to the House.

I just couldn't reach him.

Did you warn him
of the consequences?

My motion and what --

oh, I did.

Yes, but he said
it would take more than

a menopausal Moral Right
to oust him

and that no one would
ever take you seriously.

Rosalind, I want you
to feel free

to act in the best interests
of the party.

Don't worry about me
in all of this.

FLORA: It's never really
sunk in before.

The awful waste.

I hope you know I've
always tried to be your ally

in all of this.

Oh, of course we know.

Oh, is that the garden?

Where the children picked those
wild flowers for me?

You gave them to me.
Do you remember?

Just after the story broke
about my husband's affair

with that woman.

I see pictures of
myself sometimes...

taken before that.

And others taken afterwards.

I marvel at how I can
look the same.

But nothing is the same.

I have something to tell you.

My late father never
made any request,

either legally or personally
or otherwise,

that Pangbourne Manor
should be turned over to you

for your nursery.

But your husband said so in
the House of Commons!

The details of
my father's will.

As you can see,
there's no mention of it.

The house becomes mine,

together with
the rest of his estate.

So that's that.

I knew it was too
bloody good to be true.

We could make it true.

Once the probate
is officially settled,

I could sign the house

over to you.

What's the catch?

No conditions.

You'd have complete autonomy.

Why would you want to
do that for us?

Well, it's for the children,
isn't it?

But lies should always
be exposed, don't you think?

By whoever encounters them,

regardless of
political persuasion.

We seem to be
missing a step here.

He cares no more for his
own children than for yours.

They're all just
hostages to his fortune,

just as I am.

Oh, that's what makes it
all so terribly hard, you see.

I mean,
I've tried to talk to him.

Of course I have.
And reason with him.

[Sniffs]

I just...

can't reach him.

[Sighs]

Oh, dear, you must think me
very weak and foolish.

I don't know what to think.

Does it really matter

about the whys
and the wherefores?

I mean, what's at stake here

is the children
and their families.

The thing about exposing lies,
I mean politicians' lies,

is that no one cares.

They don't give a toss.

What is it they say?

"Don't care was made to care"?

We don't go in for that
Victorian bullshit here.

Oh, I think you know
what I'm saying to you.

Can we keep this?

Where shall we say we got it?

An anonymous source?

Look, look, let's --
let's not fudge the issue here.

Your government,

in their last manifesto,
categorically stated

that Child Benefit
was sacrosanct.

The single-parent associations

call these so-called
cash incentives

to single mothers
discriminatory and derisory.

What puzzles me is

that you never
sought their views

when you were
drawing up the bill.

In the light of your own recent
extramarital affair, Minister,

it does rather
pose the question

as to whether you're qualified
to speak about family issues

at all.

My personal life has no bearing
on this matter whatsoever.

You don't think the quite
extraordinary hostility

the public feels
about your proposals

is linked with
the recent publicity

about your personal life?

WOMAN: The Carlingham Council
at no time received

any request from Duncan Matlock
to review the...

MAN: The controversy
over the whole issue is

further fuelled by the fact
that the proposed bill

to reform Child Benefit,
which is presently

in front of
the Select Committee,

is having something of
a rocky ride.

MAN: Duncan Matlock
deliberately misled

the House of Commons
when he stated...

Well, uh, we in the N.U.T.
object to the idea

that the state education sector

is to be yet further
demoralized by the introduction

of education vouchers
to the private sector.

And the Tory wolf,
in the guise of Duncan Matlock,

is sniffing at the door
of Child Benefit

and state education.

It's a double whammy,
isn't it?

DUNCAN: Shit.

WOMAN: Child Benefit is one of

the mainstays of income for
a single-parent family.

MAN: Does the Right Honourable
Gentleman intend apologizing...

We know for a fact
that Duncan Matlock lied

when he said his
father-in-law

bought that house
for our nursery.

He pretends
to care for children.

The 30 children who
lost their nursery places

mean nothing to him.

ROSALIND: Duncan Matlock's
recent actions

have caused the Association
increasing concern.

We feel we have no choice but
to voice this concern

through a motion
of no confidence.

Thank you.

MALE NEWSCASTER:
And The Independent lead with

"Matlock's Midas Touch
Deserts Him,"

and the same refrain with
The Telegraph --

"Matlock Faces Crisis Vote
From Local Party."

The Mirror adds
their voice with,

"Matlock In More Hot Water."

Thank you.

Another bloody left-hander.

These places are
clogged with them.

You know how long I've been
waiting on my membership here?

Three bloody years.

You can't get it
for love nor money.

Unless, of course,
it's old money.

That's still where
the power lies.

Not for much longer.

Information superhighway
will be where it's at.

Shopping via computer
and virtual reality.

Your TV screen
will let you amble around

an entire shopping mall,
making purchases

without ever straying from
the comfort of your own home.

They'll hold referendums
the same way,

from Strasbourg to the Senate.

Virtual reality

giving virtual power
to the people.

Then God help all of us.

I'm afraid Sir Donald

is dining with guests,
Mr. Matlock.

Can't be disturbed.

So we'll wait until
he's finished dining.

I'm afraid this room
is designated

for members' guests only, sir.

Well, bollocks to that.

[Beeping]

[Ringing tone]

Yes?

We're about ready
for your finale.

Oh, throwing the thing
at me, and --

Excuse me a moment.

Sir Donald,
there's a phone call for you.

Oh, yes.

If you'll excuse me,
gentlemen.

Certainly.

Hello?

Donald, it's me.

It's Flora.

I'm at my wits' end,
Donald, I really am.

Where are you?
I'll come to you.

No, no, no, I'm --
I'm at home.

I -- [Sighs]

Oh, look,
this is ridiculous.

I can't burden you
with all this.

Lo 1 --
I'll call you back when I --

Flora, wait.

Calm down.

Tell me what's happened.

Well, do you remember
when we last met?

And I was so afraid that
you'd think me disloyal?

That's the awful irony
of all this.

He's seeing
Jennifer Caird again.

Right here in Carlingham!

She's booked into

the Rose and Crown Hotel
tomorrow night.

I can't believe he'd be --
be such a bloody fool.

No, neither could I.

So I had someone
check it out.

The room's booked
on his credit card.

I -- I just don't know
which way to turn.

I want you to be very clear
in how you answer this, Flora.

In choosing to confide in me,
am I right in assuming

you expect me to act on
this information?

No! Oh, no.

I -- I just called you
as a friend, that's all,

just out of --
of friendship.

Please believe me
when I tell you

that whatever action
I do take

is governed by
friendship also.

Give yourself a hug,
try to sleep.

Mr. Matlock is still waiting,
Sir Donald.

Shall I tell him you left?

Yes.

Tell him I'm spending
the weekend at Chequers.

I can't be reached.

I'm terribly sorry,
Mr. Matlock.

Sir Donald appears to
have left for Chequers,

where he can't be reached.

This is it.

Thanks, luv. Ta.

[Doorbell buzzes]

[Sighs]

[Grunts]

[Sighs]

What?

You better brace yourself.

Not even a bloody warning shot
across our bows.

Flora?

Did Mark call you?

It's lies, Flora.

All lies.

I've not set eyes on her again.
I swear it.

That's the God's
honest truth.

I know it is.

They phoned from Chequers.

They want you to
call back in the morning.

I'm finished, Flora.

It's over.

Someone did this to me.

It was premeditated
and calculated.

All of it,
right from the start.

A systematic destruction of
my credibility and my career.

You think about it.

The leaking of that bill,

that debacle with Clive
and that bloody nursery.

That Clegg woman
and her machinations.

Every ally I've ever had
turning against me.

I'm on the receiving end
of so much hate.

Why?

What the hell did I do
to deserve it?

You're the one
I don't deserve.

You alone kept the faith.

Only you.

Oh, tell me
you love me, Flora.

I need to hear it now,
this minute.

I loved you the moment
that we first met, Duncan.

[Flora moans]

Flora?

Flora?

What's going on, darling?

Hmm?

Come inside, darling,
you'll freeze to death out here.

I don't want
to go back in there.

What is it?

[Laughs]

Sorry I didn't
gift-wrap it.

Isn't that what you did when
you left it by our bed for her?

It was me, Duncan.

Your enemy within.

It was me.

Aah! Ah!

You look me in the face and you
tell me you did this to me!

To us! Say it!

You lost my vote.
That's all.

You... You...

You...

[Sobbing]

Have no idea, do you?

I mean, you're in your
precious ivory tower

playing the squire's wife
while I'm out there

in the fucking war zone trying
to survive the fucking shit!

Oh, my poor lamb.
Was it so very hard?

-Stuck-up bitch!
-You loved every minute of it!

You bought into it,
my love,

right down the line!

Well, you stepped over
the fucking line, Duncan,

in every direction, till there
were no lines any more.

...Believe that.
It's nothing to do with that!

All this carnage,
it's nothing to do with that!

It's about revenge,
isn't it?

FLORA: Oh, God.

It's so fucking pathetic,
Floral

If it was so bloody repugnant,
why didn't you just leave?

Walk out?

You had to be stopped!

Sex has nothing
to do with love!

Nothing!

Oh, silly me,
I tend to confuse the two.

Well, it's hardly

my fault, is it?

DUNCAN: You're finished too,
you know that?

Oh, yes,
I'm well aware of that.

I suppose I lose
the children, too.

I imagine that was
part of the plan.

Don't you know that our son
doesn't even want to

live under
the same roof as you?

He doesn't even want to
breathe the same air!

Yeah, well, the air's been stale
around here for years anyway.

[Screams]

Just for the record,
that was sex.

What we did back there
in the house was the other.

Now you know the difference.

Oh, I don't need a lesson
in that, I assure you.

I know all about that!
I've had a great teacher!

The very best!

MAN: James Martin Brown...

3,647.

Ernest Peter Davis...

MALE COMMENTATOR: Labour.

4,569.

Susan Olivia Johnstone...

2,368.

John Ambrose Laughton...

COMMENTATOR: Liberal Democrat.

OFFICER: 11,126.

Flora Octavia Matlock...

COMMENTATOR: Conservative.

OFFICER: 17,946.

[Applause]

COMMENTATOR: Well,
she's made it.

OFFICER: Jean Mary Peabody...

COMMENTATOR: Just as
the polls predicted.

Duncan Matlock's estranged wife
standing in the by-election

of his old constituency
has won the day.

A sympathetic vote?
Who can say?

She certainly had some
pretty heavyweight support

to help her,

not least Sir Donald Frazier,
standing in the wings there,

who, along with
the prime minister,

campaigned so vigorously
on her behalf in this

crucial by-election.

Rosalind Clegg,
the new chairman

of the local
Conservative Association

who was so integral
to Mrs. Matlock's...

candidature.

One can't help speculate

how Duncan Matlock,
who's about to take up

his post in Brussels
as parliamentary advisor

to an EEC think-tank on
customs controls,

one can't help but wonder
how he feels about

this extraordinary
turn of events.

WOMAN: Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.

British Airways welcomes you
to flight number BA 2422

to Brussels.

COMMENTATOR: And I see
Mark Hollister there,

Duncan Matlock's
old ministerial adviser.

Does his presence signify
Flora Matlock's intention

to follow in her
husband's footsteps?

All questions
for the future.

Right now, she's savouring
the moment of her triumph,

and I'm sure everyone
sitting at home watching this

will feel that it's a triumph
that she's certainly earned.

[Applause]

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