The Mirror’s Sophie Huskisson has a laugh with Green Party MP Siân Berry on our new political show Party Games – you can watch all our latest episodes on YouTube now
The silly show for serious people is back again this week with more games and laughs.
Last time Liberal Democrat MP Josh Babarinde joined me for fun on our new political show Party Games. It followed the first two episodes with Labour MPs Dawn Butler and Carolyn Harris – all of which you can watch on The Mirror’s YouTube channel.
This week I had a laugh with Green Party MP Siân Berry. I spin a wheel of fortune to choose the games I play with MPs – which include Ask Me Anything and Never Have I Ever.
The blink rankings round with Siân had me in stitches. The game involved her having to rank types of transport from one to five – without her knowing which five types of travel I was going to give her.
Unfortunately for the Green politician… She ended up saving her top spot for private jets. “I was saving it for trains,” Siân said laughing, with an incredulous look on her face. “I’ve accidentally said I will rank private jets first. I would die of guilt getting in one, to be honest,” she said. You can watch the latest episode with Ms Berry on The Mirror’s YouTube show at 6pm on Sunday.
Here’s some of the best moments from the episode.
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What does a Sian Berry party look like?
I used to be the entertainment rep when I was at university, so I used to do very, very involved themed parties. We did one that was a disco themed party, 1970s-style. I literally hired out the lit dance floor from Saturday Night Fever and put that in the college. I used to go absolutely to town on decorations. Give me a theme and I’m off.
Have you ever written a book?
I have done that. The book was tips on how to be green. So I wrote things like how to be green in your garden, and I had a lovely illustrator and lots of cartoons in it. It was a lovely set of little books.
Have you ever owned a house?
I have never owned a house. I’m a renter. I always have been, since I left my parents home. I just don’t know if I ever will. It’s really, really hard for people to get on the housing ladder, but just to have some security in your home, it’s very, very hard… we (renters) are (spending a lot of money on rent) and when we’re doing that, we’re not spending money in the shop so down the pub or on culture. And it’d be so good for the economy to get the money out of landlords hands and out into the wider world.
Have you ever run for Mayor of London?
I have done that three times. The first time was in 2008 where Boris Johnson was one of my opponents. I was quite young, and it was good fun. And I came fourth, and I came back in 2016 and ran and came third when Sadiq Khan came in. And I ran again – it was going to be 2020 but it was ‘21 and I also came third.
Have you ever voted tactically?
I have done that, just the once. I voted Labour for the London Assembly in my constituency. And then on the wider PR (proportional representation) vote, I voted Green. And the reason I did that is because I particularly wanted to get rid of a particularly obnoxious Conservative who had that seat, and I wanted the Labour candidate who I knew a little bit to win.
What would you do if you weren’t into politics?
I’d probably be writing in some way. I was a copywriter and doing lots of work on psychological behaviour change, things like that. I’d quite like to be some sort of influential writer.
What was your dream job growing up?
Obviously, like most children, I wanted to be on Blue Peter. That was the thing. I don’t even have a badge because I failed at that utterly.
What Green party policy are you most proud of?
Basic income. That’s where everybody universally gets a basic income that is enough to live off as part of the state, and you can earn more, or you can try and get by on that. It’s a policy about respecting the basic human right to having basic material sufficiency.
What is a policy you’re passionate about?
I think that childcare should be free and available to absolutely everybody. This is a foundational policy that we’re very close to wanting, but isn’t quite there. So I’ve committed to call for there to be free, universal childcare for absolutely everybody that needs it. I think children are the future. I think that it is an investment in national infrastructure, the same way as building any railway, or any hospital would be and it is my mission to get this government to do it.
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