here when he was 24. english, he didn't speak any english when he came at 2a, apart from the odd word, and he had to really learn english on the job when he stood for election first as a counsellor and then as a prospective labour mp. one of the things that people forget is you don'tjust speak in a certain language, you think in a certain language and he obviously thought in urdu and that obviously took time to then translate into speech—making, so that was really interesting. when you say wrote his speeches, you weren't literally doing the job that special advisers do for ministers and shadow ministers, i mean writing, the words they amend. in a way, you are having to get his thoughts down in the english he'd want to use? yeah, so i had to go to school the next day or go to university the next day and i would be literally sitting up with him until two or three in the morning, digesting what his view was and then turning that into words on paper so he could go and speak the next day. how much where his views your views? how much of that kitchen table did use it round and row? obviously i'm probably a bit more to the left than he was and i think