You don’t say things that might upset her career.”Political benefit: 1/10 – And that’s just the way that Jenny likes it.Tiberio SantomarcoMarried to: Oona King, MP for Bethnal Green & Bow and PPS to Patricia Hewitt, in 1994.Profession: Film producer.How they met: Tiberio, 41, met Oona when they were both working for the European Parliament in Brussels.How the marriage works: Brussels left Tiberio utterly disillusioned with politics, which has proved difficult to reconcile with his marriage to one of New Labour’s bright young things. They qualified together and married the same year.How the marriage works: Keith stays out of Jenny’s limelight, although he does chip in leading up to an election. While Jenny comes from a family of Liberals, Keith’s Conservative mother and Labour father used to argue the political toss. It is not a memory that has galvanised Keith into political activism, but his current situation has its perks: his office looks out on to the Houses of Parliament, so he often has supper with his wife between evening votes.Jenny says: “Keith is the best mate any MP could ever have.”Keith says: “There are no rules for spouses. And even though Jack has his own stellar union career to worry about, he is often first home to look after the children in a domestic life which both Jack and Harriet describe as “sickeningly normal”.Harriet says: “What we had were shared interests, a shared view Neither of us were frivolous people.

We’d always been ‘in the struggle’.”Jack says: “When the history of maternal or political courage is written there will be a chapter headed Harriet Harman.” But also, “I see what women have had to put up with for hundreds of years, being defined through the person to whom they’re married.”Political benefit: 10/10 – When your husband is a union high-flyer with serious Labour credentials and friends in high places, you’re on to a winner.Dr Keith TongeMarried to: Dr Jenny Tonge, MP for Richmond Park, in 1964.Profession: Consultant radiologist at St Thomas’ Hospital in London.How they met: Jenny and Keith’s eyes first met when they were dissecting a corpse at medical school. But before Ruth Kelly came along and spoilt the party, Harriet was the original political Supermum – the first MP to bear three children while in office. Coupled with his disappointment on missing out on the TGWU top job, despite being Tony Blair’s preferred selection, his political career has had its set-backs, but then again, so has Harriet’s. She was dismissed from the Cabinet in 1998, before rejoining as Solicitor General in 2001.

Jack, or Mr Harman ne Dromey, as he sometimes calls himself, wanted to join Harriet in Parliament in 2001, but no safe seat could be found for him. He is called her “left-wing conscience” by colleagues, and keeps her in touch with her political roots.Derek GaddMarried to: Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Education and Skills, in 1996.Profession: Officer at the Association of Local Government.How they met: At an anti-racism rally, when Derek was a councillor But it could all have been so different. Ruth was once the girlfriend of fellow New Labour hotshot David Miliband.How the marriage works: When Ruth was elected in 1997, very shortly before giving birth to her first of four children, Derek quit his job as an architect and became involved with local government. Derek and a nanny look after the children and perform the lion’s share of the household chores.Ruth says: “I am lucky because my husband works nine-to-five and it takes a lot of pressure off me.”Derek says: Nothing (he never gives interviews) and won’t be photographed either.Political benefit: 7/10 – Any husband who gives up his career for his wife, and remains stoically silent about it, is worth his weight in gold.Jack DromeyMarried to: Harriet Harman, Solicitor General and MP for Camberwell and Peckham, in 1977.Profession: Deputy general secretary of the TGWU.How they met: At the Brent Law Centre, which Jack established, while they were campaigning for Asian women workers’ rights.How the marriage works: Two political juggernauts driving at full speed alongside each other.

He often canvasses on his own so that his wife can concentrate on other areas of the constituency. A rare gem.Leo BeckettMarried to: Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in 1979.Profession: Parliamentary assistant to Margaret.How they met: In 1979, Leo managed Margaret’s election campaign, and, smitten with his new charge, left his wife Beryl to be with her.How the marriage works: At 77, Leo is still assisting Margaret day-to-day at Westminster.Margaret says: “If you go canvassing with Leo, it’s like being with the Pied Piper.”Leo says: “I always treat the person I work for and who pays me money as the boss.”Political benefit: 9/10 – Although he’s behind the scenes, Leo has masterminded his wife’s stellar progress through Westminster. We looked at ourselves as a dual-career marriage from the outset.”How the marriage works: Between Caroline’s all-hours politicking and Mark’s international business commitments, this pair somehow manage to find time to spend with their three young children.Caroline says: “My husband always expected me to work, we treat each other as equals; I don’t feel a huge need to become a feminist.”Mark says: “Caroline’s doing the right thing – she’s great at her job.”Political benefit: 9/10 – Mark’s domestic and professional support are crucial to Caroline’s political ambitions. And so we need to know – what kind of person makes a great husband for a politician?Mark SpelmanMarried to: Caroline Spelman, Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs, in 1987.Profession: Business strategist.How they met: Mark knew what he was getting himself into when he asked Caroline to marry him – “she made it clear she had political ambitions. Far from being the exception, two parents each with their own hectic work schedule is increasingly normal. It is what John Harvey, the husband of the Conservative MP Anne McIntosh, calls “the absolute nightmare of juggling everything” – and politicians could do worse than appealing to Britain’s frenetically successful professional class.But if we ever do see a new wave of high-profile male spouses emerging from the shadows of the Westminster circus, we will see the women MPs of tomorrow choosing their men with a great deal of care. Such relationships are the key to understanding modern, professional Britain.