‘Rt Hon Jennie’ the guide dog melts hearts as she shows off Lib Dem party conference pass

While Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey has grabbed headlines with his latest publicity stunt (riding a jet ski) at the start of his party’s conference in Brighton, a furry friend in the form of Jennie the guide dog has got members all excited after she was given her own ‘parliamentarian’ conference pass alongside her owner, Torbay MP Steve Darling.

Jennie made headlines back in July following Darling’s election, when she was seen guiding the politician – who has a genetic eye condition called Stargardt disease - to the despatch box to swear his oath of allegiance, and having a rest on the floor of the Commons in between debates.

In fact, Darling told PA that month that Jennie “tries to pull [him] towards the chamber” whenever the pair of them go through parliament’s central lobby, which he thinks is because “she knows there’s the chance of a good lie down if you go in the chamber for a period of time”.

Iconic.

The Labrador has already been spotted saying hello to No 10’s chief mouser, Larry the cat, who appeared disinterested in the guide dog.

But now, in her latest opportunity to bask in the limelight, Lib Dem conference chair and Haringey councillor Nick da Costa confirmed on Saturday that he has “managed to sort out” a pass for Jennie to wear while navigating the event.

And unsurprisingly, Twitter/X users think the photos are absolutely Labr-adorable (sorry):

Darling and Jennie have both made several TV appearances following the former’s election to draw attention to the important role guide dogs play, but also to highlight the barriers faced by blind and visually impaired people in everyday life.

“Whilst I don’t want my disability to define me, if I can drive positive change as part of my world on the way… it’s really nice that I’m able to do that from being here,” he said.

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