According to theguardian:

The education secretary, Alan Johnson, dismissed the accusation, saying: “The point about John Reid is he is not Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. He doesn’t get pushed around by anyone.”

Could someone with more literary nous explain the allusion? Was Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm particularly acquiescent?

I now can’t shake an image of John Reid as The First Mrs de Winter.

Next time:

The education secretary, Alan Johnson, dismissed the accusation, saying: “The point about Tony Blair is he is not Rhett Butler. He isn’t a Southern gentleman and he does give a damn.”