hard as nails

But next comes an admission, from this professionally tough politician, described to me by one of her colleagues once as 'hard as nails', that when things get personal, she doesn't like it.

While a friend has described her as politically "as hard as nails", Reeves' time in Westminster has not been without controversy.

But one of her friends says politically she is "hard as nails".

He remembers inviting a group of heterosexual friends to watch a match in Ilkley and them asking which of the players were gay because they were "hard as nails".

"I always well up when I watch it. But Jenny, who remains a close friend, doesn't. Hard as nails, she is!"