Recently a certain politician became editor of the London Evening Standard. A fan of cartoons – despite some unflattering portrayals of him over the years – George Osborne reintroduced the political cartoon to the paper.
The Standard has a long and distinguished history of cartoonists: Vicky, Low and Jak; all masters of the trade and extremely big acts to follow. I was offered the job and, though it was daunting, I accepted.
I started just as the general election was announced. It was great timing, with every day stuffed with political news to feast on. I am an equal opportunities offender, and in a sort of apolitical way I will poke fun at anyone who I think deserves it, regardless of political party. My first cartoon for the Standard was headlined “London landmarks”. I drew Ukip stuffed into a red telephone box, the Lib Dems’ Tim Farron as the London Eye, unsure if he was going left or right, Jeremy Corbyn in a bus reversing to the 1970s and Theresa May as Big Ben, chiming her mantra “Bong! Strong and Stable! Bong! Strong and Stable!”
