Special Relationships: Westminster power couples of 2026

Mace | 25th March 2026 | Magazine, Westminster Index

Which special relationships are really running the country? Emily Hill surveys the top political romances in Westminster.

The last time The Mace compiled this list, power couples had reached a zenith in the Palace of Westminster. From 2019 to 2022, as WhatsApp messages examined at the 2023 Covid-19 inquiry later revealed, the country was being run by Boris Johnson (in name) and his baby mama (in practice). “I was always told that Dom [Dominic Cummings] was the secret PM,” Simon Case, the head of the civil service, complained in a message. “How wrong they are. I look forward to telling select cttee tomorrow - ‘oh, f*** no, don’t worry about Dom, the real person in charge is Carrie [Johnson, née Symonds]’.” Now, Labour are in power and determined to do things differently so perhaps it is no surprise that the greatest change in the politico-nuptial stakes is that the prime minister appears to be doing his damnedest not to be considered part of a “power couple” at all. From Cherie Blair QC forgoing contraceptives on a trip to Balmoral to the inner workings of Akshata Sunak’s tax returns, speculation on ...

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