David Cameron's mother pays tribute to 'smartened' Jeremy Corybn after winning Oldie award

Winner: Mary Cameron was crowned Mother Knows Best at the Oldie Awards
PA wire
Jamie Bullen8 February 2017
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David Cameron’s mother jokingly paid tribute to Jeremy Corbyn when she scooped an award having been invoked in a jibe at the Labour leader to smarten up his appearance.

Mary Cameron, 82, was crowned Mother Knows Best of the Year at the Oldie awards after for her 10,000-strong petition opposing her local Tory council shutting a children’s centre in Oxfordshire.

Joined by the former Prime Minister, Mrs Cameron was referenced by her son when he called on Mr Corybn to "put on a proper suit” during a heated clash at Prime Minister’s Questions.

Accepting the award, she said: “I suppose I should share this with the leader of the opposition.

“Ever since that Prime Minister’s Question Time he has smartened himself up and looks reasonably respectable. I only wish my own family were as obedient.”

Tongue-in-cheek: Mrs Cameron said Mr Corbyn had smartened up since her son lambasted him over his appearance at Prime Minister's Questions
PA wire

Mr Cameron described his mother as a “wonderful woman” at the ceremony, held on Tuesday at London's Simpson's-in-the-Strand.

He told The Daily Telegraph: “I'm incredibly proud of my mother. She was an absolute role model for me. She really imbued in me this idea of public service.

"She was a magistrate for about 30 years and played a big part in the local community.

"She's just a wonderful woman. It's really lovely to bring her to something like this.

“I've been to a few events like this in my life but never one with my mother. So it's lovely."

Mrs Cameron campaigned to save the children’s centre where she used to volunteer after it was forced to close after a spending review under the former Prime Minister.

Among the other winners was politician and actress Glenda Jackson, who was awarded Bernie Oldie of the Year.

The two-time Academy Award winner served as Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn for 23 years before stepping down in 2015.

Actress Vanessa Redgrave and Labour peer Lord Dubs both bagged Campaigner of the Year awards for their work supporting unaccompanied child refugees arriving in Britain.

American senator Bernie Sanders was given the Should-Have-Been of the Year award after he rose to global prominence as the challenger to Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination

Tributes to the late Alexander Chancellor, who edited The Oldie magazine from 2014 until his death last month, were paid at the ceremony.

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