Therese Coffey is pleased to acknowledge that she “may not be a role model” since she enjoys cigars, fizz, and “could maybe do with shedding a pound or two.”
But on her first day in charge of the country’s welfare, she gained admirers yesterday for her unpretentious attitude and open conversations during interviews.
However, the most memorable incident occurred when her cellphone started playing a Dr. Dre gangsta rap song during an interview on a radio morning programme.
Deputy Prime Minister and presenter of the show, Miss Coffey, 50, said to the host Nick Ferrari, “I just realised my alarm is going off on my phone. You’re getting a little Dr. Dre.” Just a simple 8 o’clock alarm. Sorry.’
It was the 1999 hit song Still D.R.E. by the American artist, which included lyrics like “I’m representing for them gangstas all throughout the globe” and “I’m still f****** with you.”
The warbling gadget was ultimately silenced as Miss Coffey searched through her large black leather purse in the LBC radio studio. Mr. Ferrari watched through his glasses.
Are you okay over there? the host questioned. Your phone is ringing. You OK?’
Miss Coffey, an Oxford-educated chemist with a PhD, said: “I’ve just realised my alarm is going off on my phone.” Let me just turn it off, I’m sorry.
That’s excellent, Dr. Coffey serving as Health Secretary, added Mr. Ferrari. It just gets better and better.’
Liz Truss’s campaign for the leadership was orchestrated by Miss Coffey, who is referred to be the prime minister’s dependable deputy and confidante.
The two have been good friends for a long time and have a passion for music. In 2010, they were both elected as MPs in East Anglia.
Even the parliamentary authorities turned a blind eye to their rowdy karaoke nights in the Commons ministry corridor.
Yesterday, Miss Coffey bravely acted as the public face of the Government in a flurry of breakfast interviews while Miss Truss called her new top team to a Cabinet meeting at 8.30am.
She assumed the position wearing an unassuming casual stripy shirt, as though she wished to be assessed just by her straightforward speech, instead of the eye-catching power suits that some of her colleagues liked.
She tried her best to respond to in-depth inquiries on LBC regarding the strike by physicians and private healthcare while only politely objecting that she had not had time to see the NHS chief executive.
The discussion quickly moved to her personal health. In 2015, she was seen smoking on a big cigar and holding a champagne glass in a famous shot taken at a Spectator magazine party.
As Mr. Ferrari gently teased Miss Coffey about her weight and partying habits, he said, “You are not necessarily the best example to be the Secretary of State for Health. As someone who likes a cigar, enjoys the odd noggin – as I do – and, let’s be candid, you and I might do with losing a pound or two. Therese Coffey, how would you respond?’
Well, I realise I may not be the role model, but my focus is on how we provide care for patients, she retorted.
And neither am I, I hasten to say, the presenter said.
But I’m sure that the Chief Medical Officer and others will continue to be role models in that regard, and I will do my best as well, the Health Secretary, who describes herself as a “former smoker,” continued.
Mr. Ferrari said, “I know I’d never get it,” when questioned whether someone “who loves a cigarette and a drink” could be the “head of the Health Service.” I’m the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, so that’s what I’ll be concentrating on delivering, she said.
I understand I’ll probably get a variety of feedback, Nick, but… on a more serious note, I have used the NHS as a patient as well, and I’ve had both excellent and subpar experiences. My patients are my priority.
Miss Coffey, who has never been married, spent a month in the hospital receiving meningitis treatment in 2018. She considered the experience to be a “near miss,” and it inspired her to treasure every day.
Some listeners appear to have like her no-nonsense demeanour since one tweeted: “Stop disparaging Therese Coffey for being obese. The majority of British people are overweight.
She has a really tough job to complete, therefore I don’t care how she looks as long as she can succeed. ‘Personally, I always appreciate it when MPs know how to live a bit,’ said another. I don’t want some squares running things.
‘If the best that Therese Coffey’s detractors can say is that she enjoys the odd cigar and drink of Champagne, I’d argue they have more issues than she does,’ remarked broadcaster Alastair Stewart.
The Deputy Prime Minister, a Catholic who has met two Popes at the Vatican, also came under scrutiny for her views on abortion. She has voted against same-sex marriage, the expansion of abortion rights in Northern Ireland, and the permanent availability of at-home abortion medicines in England and Wales.
When questioned about her views on BBC Breakfast, she vowed that access to abortions will remain regardless of her own personal beliefs.
She admitted it to Sky News, saying, “I know I voted against abortion legislation.” I will state that since I am a total Democrat and that is already the case, I am not trying to repeal any specific provisions of the legislation governing abortion.
She received backlash on Twitter over remarks she made on BBC Radio 4’s Today show about chiropractors, who specialise in treating joint and muscle problems but often practise privately and are sometimes called “quacks.”
Her statement that the “majority of healthcare is delivered through primary care, through our doctors, our dentists, and chiropractors” was in reference to the National Health Service, but detractors noted that the Health Service rarely funds chiropractors, with the NHS stating that a GP is “more likely to refer you to a physiotherapist.”
On LBC, Miss Coffey was also asked about Chevening – the grace-and-favour country home in Kent which has previously been fought over by ministers.
Normally, the Foreign Secretary receives the residence, although deputy prime ministers have also shown interest in it. Miss Coffey dismissed it, stating, “I’m really happy to be Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I’m not really focused on grace and favours.” My greatest priority is that.
Overall, the morning’s nonstop, pointed questions must have seemed like a baptism of fire for the hitherto unknown clergyman.
However, the whole nation will soon know much more about her – and her ideas – given her high-profile responsibilities in the Cabinet.
Therese Coffey is a Scouser with a PhD in chemistry, according to former Conservative health minister Edwina Currie. Not really someone you’d laugh at. They are few across the whole city, let alone in the Commons. But just to be clear, Margaret Thatcher was the last female scientist to hold a top post in the British Parliament.