I’m gonna get this fishing boat.” I thought you wanted a motorboat? “For the kids. A fishing boat for the kids!”I’m curious about his interior life Or what there might be of it. For example, where does he stand politically? He’s a monarchist, he says – “I just fink they’re class” – and a Tory “because they’re patriotic, right?” Who does he want to win the leadership battle, Clarke or Duncan Smith?”Is whatsisname out of it?” he asks.”Portillo?”"Yeah. Is he out of it?”"He pulled out, Vinnie.”"Did he? Didn’t know.”I ask him what laws he’d change if he became prime minister.

“I’d change the tax laws.”"And do something about the health service. The health service is a disgrace,” adds Neil, who has momentarily stirred.”Yeah,” agrees Vinnie “I’d do it like America Everyone would have to have health insurance. The hospitals in America are unbelievable.”And spiritually? Where does Vinnie stand spiritually? Does he believe in God? Yes, he says “I just think that at the right times.. if you ask for help… he will help.” His wife, Tanya – whom he clearly worships – had to have a heart transplant at 21 when her heart collapsed during the birth of her daughter Kayley (from a previous marriage). Now, thinking of the drugs she has to take, the pain she’s had to go through, doesn’t that shake your faith a bit? “Nah. Because I believe I was meant to save Tanya.” And she you? “Yeah. Probably.”Is this touching? Am I, finally, tuning into his lovability? Are we bonding? What bores you most, Vinnie? “INTERVIEWS!” Oh dear.

Maybe not.Kayley and Aaron, Vinnie’s son from a previous relationship, are educated privately. Vinnie left school at 15 without sitting any exams or reading a book He is proud that the children attend private schools “They go to the theatre and the opera. A lot of my old mates have never been to the opera or theatre, and they’re now 36.” Does that matter? “Yeah. It’s their education, innit?”Maybe sending the kids privately works as yet another symbol of his worth. Or maybe he just wants them to have the sort of childhood he never had.