Born in Hong Kong, Rory Stewart, 53, served as Conservative MP for Penrith and The Border from 2010. He was secretary of state for international development when he launched an unsuccessful bid to become Tory leader in 2019. Later that year, he 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.
What is your greatest fear?
I become very anxious if I think I’ve hurt someone.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Being too thin-skinned.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Carelessness of truth and others.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Having somebody pull my judo trousers down at a competition when I was seven. And finding I wasn’t wearing any pants.
Aside from property, what’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought?
A painting of a man who was killed on the Dutch coast in 1600.
Describe yourself in three words
Scrappy, quixotic, curious.
What would your superpower be?
Indifference to social media abuse.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My bandy legs.
If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
Deinocheirus mirificus – a dinosaur 30ft long which we think had a sail on its back, giant claws, a giraffe-like neck and probably feathers on its arms, and moved like Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars.
What is your most unappealing habit?
When I am thinking, I grimace and chew my finger.
What is the worst thing anyone’s said to you?
On X, I am regularly called a traitor, a fraud, a grifter, a weakling, a narcissist, a coward and a child molester.
Would you choose fame or anonymity?
Anonymity, unless the fame was eternal.
What was the last lie that you told?
That I wasn’t available for a dinner party last Thursday night.
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Watching TV in the afternoon.
What do you owe your parents?
A sense that I could take risks.
What does love feel like?
Surprise. Smiles. Courage. Safety.
Which living person do you most despise, and why?
I am profoundly shocked and troubled by the way that Musk has used his wealth, brains and fame to foster the most damaging and hateful politics.
If you could edit your past, what would you change?
Moments of vanity, carelessness and unkindness.
If not yourself, who would you most like to be?
A monk.
When’s the last time you changed your mind about something significant?
The US election showed me that I had trapped myself in wishful thinking.
What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Living in a ski resort.
What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
That I am not wise.