Rory Stewart says indifference to social media abuse would be his superpower

Rory Stewart, 53, said his ideal superpower would be indifference to social media abuse. Born in Hong Kong, Stewart served as Conservative MP for Penrith and The Border from 2010, was secretary of state for international development when he launched an unsuccessful bid to become Tory leader in 2019, and later that year resigned from the party to stand as an independent in the London mayoral elections.

He co-hosts the podcast The Rest Is Politics and is the author of prize-winning and bestselling books including The Places in Between and Politics on the Edge; his latest is Middleland. He is married with two children and lives in London. In a short questionnaire he said his greatest fear is becoming very anxious if he thinks he has hurt someone, and that the trait he most deplores in himself is being too thin-skinned.

He named carelessness of truth and others as the trait he most deplores in others, recalled an embarrassing childhood moment when someone pulled his judo trousers down at seven, and said his most expensive purchase aside from property was a painting of a man who was killed on the Dutch coast in 1600.

He described himself as "scrappy, quixotic, curious" and said he dislikes his bandy legs.

Key Topics

Politics, Rory Stewart, Hong Kong, Conservative Mp, London Mayoral Election, Middleland