The illustrated Hello: Sir Bufton Tufton

Sir Bufton Tufton doesn't actually exist; he's a catch-all invention of Private Eye used as a generic Tory backbench MP. He's more or less been put out to pasture by the magazine these days. Not, presumably, because Tufton's vanished, but it's much easier to make fun of his kids, Algy Tufton, who desperately try to pretend their virtually common.

There's lots we went looking for here to illustrate this one - Peter Lilley's horrific rap at party conference; any one of the numerous laboured Gilbert and Sullivan parodies Tories indulge in from time to time; Peter Brooke doing Clementine on The Late Late Show. None seem to be around.

So, instead, let's turn our attention to Michael Ancram and his none-more-conservative approach to Bob Dylan, as detailed by Pinboy on a Dylan message board:

I watched the Daily Politics show on BBC1 this afternoon. It mentioned that Michael Ancram (Tory MP for Devizes) was "Bob Dylan's biggest fan" and showed him singing Blowin'. It then showed a clip of Hard to Handle.

I also found this at The Guardian's website.

Dear Mr Ancram

I know you play a bit of guitar in the 60s folk style. So are you a Bob Dylan fan? Surely you don't think he'd vote Conservative, do you?

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MichaelAncram - 04:40pm May 12, 2004 BST (6.1)
I indeed still play a 12 string Martin guitar and many of my songs are those of Bob Dylan who until he went electronic was my favourite folk singer. I don't know his politics but "the times they are a changin'" seems a very apposite theme for us today.

My second favourite singer is Paul Simon. His "Bridge over troubled water" still rings true today.

Here, then, for the Earl Of Ancram, is Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Blowin:



[Part of The Illustrated Hello]