The hereditary MP Ian Paisley, Jr – the Tory-supporting Democratic Unionist mini-me handed down his Bible-bashing father’s name and North Antrim seat – enjoys a sharp sense of humour. He was overheard by my snout quipping at a cross-party dinner, “People say I’m an Orangeman. I’m not an Orangeman. I’m a Lemonman. We’re much more bitter.”
His dad transitioned from an uncompromising “no surrender” hardliner into one of the “Chuckle Brothers” with Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness. Maybe a humour gene was passed on in the son’s DNA and one day he’ll learn to love Jeremy Corbyn. Or maybe not.
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