Tom Watson interview: It's liberating to be Labour's deputy leader

As he relaxes on the leather sofa in the Express & Star editor's office, he reveals how he is craving the simple pleasures of a curry at The Vine in his West Bromwich East constituency and sleep in his own bed, rather than one of the Premier Inns he was staying at almost every night of an 18-week leadership contest that began within hours of Labour's general election defeat.

Over the course of a wide-ranging interview, his first with a newspaper since becoming Labour's second highest ranking MP, he reveals what he thinks of new leader Jeremy Corbyn, how he plans to re-unite a party torn apart by the left-winger's success and how Black Country businesses will be the key to winning the 2020 General Election.

Tom on Jeremy Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn's ascent to the leadership after 32 years on the backbenches and a notorious left wing rebel prompted a wave of resignations from the party's shadow cabinet. But the 66-year-old enjoys huge support among the party grassroots and young people.

Mr Watson, aged 48, says: "With Jeremy it takes twice as long to get anywhere because people are wanting selfies with him all the time. You have to allow extra time."

The pair were both educated in the Midlands – Mr Watson at King Charles I School in Kidderminster and Mr Corbyn at Newport's Adams Grammar School. But they had not spoken much before being gathered in a room minutes before being told they had won.

"We were friendly before but it was just that I'd see him in the division lobbies (in Parliament)," Mr Watson says.

"I've spent more time with him in the last few days than at any point since I became an MP and I like him. He's a very kind and genial man. So I want to help him be all he can be and support him."

On veterans' lunches

Mr Corbyn was criticised in the Press for taking two free Costa lunches, supposedly meant for veterans following the Battle of Britain memorial service.

Far from being greedy, Mr Watson says he was being kind.

"What happened was, these young people started calling him over.

"They had these Royal Air Force Association sweatshirts on.

"He went over to talk to them and it turns out they were people who worked

for Costa and had been giving out sandwiches to people who had been at the service.

"And they wanted photographs with him. So I started taking photographs and they said they were giving away sandwiches to everyone.

"He took one for his driver. One of the right wing bloggers said that was him being greedy but he was worried that his driver was going to miss his lunch."

On anthem row

Republican Mr Corbyn came under fire for not singing the National Anthem during the service to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Mr Watson says: "I felt sorry for him on that.

"There were a couple of Tory MPs who said to me they always stand but don't sing, because they can't sing.

"He wouldn't have realised how doing that could have been interpreted.

"I want to help him with this stuff. With my experience as a campaigner, I think I can help.

"But there's a part of me that thinks he's so attractive to people because he doesn't deal with the day to day of politics, he's seized the big ideas and he's had 32 years as an MP swimming against the tide.

"That makes you a particular individual that people admire.

"You get a lot of advice. People say 'buy him a suit', 'get him to wear a tie', 'shave his beard off' – I wouldn't get him to do any of that. He is what he is."

On lifestyle change

"It's strange," Mr Watson says. "I did the speech. And from then on in I've felt relaxed. In a funny sort of way it's liberating to be the deputy leader of a political party because I guess there's no-one other than the leader to worry about what you say.

"It's a lot longer hours. It's been 2am finishes and 6am starts, but I don't think it will be like that all the time.

"And the ferocity of the media interest in the new team does take you aback. You are never prepared for 20 photographers standing in front of you taking pictures. But it's part of the job. I'm not unhappy with that."

Last Sunday he ended up on the Andrew Marr Show in place of Mr Corbyn.

"I didn't find out I was due to do the Marr show until 5pm on the Saturday and I'd had two pints of Guinness at the celebration party," he says. "So I quickly switched to water and then left the party early.

"For Jeremy, it was not unreasonable to decide he needed to spend his day ringing people up and planning his shadow cabinet his way.

"In London there's a stylised media demand made on politics. He's not going to play by those rules. He will do it his way and that is fine. I admire him for it."

On Black Country

What can West Bromwich East expect of its MP's new high profile? It's the fourth time he's held a prominent role in Labour, twice as a minister and once as deputy chairman. He resigned each time, the first one calling for Tony Blair to quit as leader.

"Well I'm not going anywhere," he says. "I still live in Sandwell. I'm looking forward to being in The Vine.

"I have a busier life but I've had a busier life before as a defence minister.

"I'll still be standing up for local people and West Bromwich comes first. It's a very honest town. If you get something wrong, it's a Black Country trait that they tell you straight. That no nonsense approach to life is quite a good training ground for dealing with the fineries of Westminster life."

On EU and NATO

Mr Corbyn has very different views to many of his MPs, and his criticism of the European Union led many to believe he might campaign to leave. It took him until Thursday to confirm he would campaign to stay in when the referendum comes around.

"It's not unusual to have different views in political parties," Mr Watson says.

"We have different views of the world on big issues but we're not as far apart as people have said.

"On Nato I have been very clear that the alliance has kept the peace in Europe for half a century and the UK needs to be part of that. He's not said we should pull out.

"He's worried about the Eastern expansion of Nato and I agree with him. He's right to sound a note of caution on that. On Europe,even though I will campaign for the yes vote I do want people who chime a note of scepticism to have their voice heard and that comes from the lesson of the Scottish referendum where those people in the Labour party who wanted to support an independence vote didn't have a platform within our party."

On leadership contest

"The last 18 weeks were exhausting for all candidates and I do think it went on too long," Mr Watson says. "But I don't think half a million people involved in hundreds of debates was a bad thing. We've had 40,000 new members join since last Saturday."

On building bridges

Wolverhampton North East MP Emma Reynolds stood down as shadow local government secretary amid concerns over Mr Corbyn's stance on Europe. Other senior MPs left too.

"I've retreated to the backbenches a few times in the past," says Mr Watson. "Emma and the others are still going to play a huge role in the future of the Labour party.

"They're the finest of their generation and we have to make sure their voices are still heard."

On small business

"From my experience of the Black Country we have to be the party of small and micro businesses, particularly micro businesses, which I think are the future productive frontiers of the economy," Mr Watson says.

"One of the things we didn't give enough clarity on in the build up to the General Election was those people who are sole traders or those who employ up to nine people.

"They are going to form an even bigger part of the labour market over the next five years. They need to know we're on their side.

"And we were right before the election to say to those big, global corporations, please pay your taxes and pay your wages fairly. But I'm not sure people heard we were for small businesses. You go to West Bromwich and there are people working very long hours, often paying themselves less than they pay their staff if they're having a bad month, putting in 100 hour weeks and we need to back them."

On 2020 election

"Any politician predicting an electoral outcome in five years is foolish," Mr Watson says.

"Politics is in a state of flux. There's great change. Even Tony Blair, one of the most expert campaigners on the globe, is still trying to understand the changes going on in British society.

"There's something going on out there. We've got 600,000 members. We're signing thousands up every day. People want a different style of politics. They want a more inclusive politics.

"A lot of the really young people, under 30, can't lay roots in a lot of cities. They will never be able to afford to buy their own home.

"Their tenures are short term and it's hard to get housing association or council homes.

"There are a lot of people not satisfied and Jeremy talks to them a very great deal. And that's unusual. I don't know what the future holds but I think it's quite exciting."