When Anthony Eden became prime minister in 1955 – having effectively been kept out of the job by Churchill overstaying his tenure – he was the first occupant of 10 Downing Street to have been divorced.
The fact was kept as discreet as possible, and when it did emerge, it was pointed out that in the breakdown of his first marriage, Eden had been “the innocent party”. The divorce hadn’t really been his fault.
When Boris Johnson, a possible con-tender for the future occupancy of No 10, announced last week his impending divorce, the Tory MP Nigel Evans said he did not think this would affect voters’ view of him. “It is 2018,” he said. We are not in the 1950s now, so things move on.”
