Peter Rhodes on advice from Blair, a dancing Cabinet member and advice for a new school year
Tony Blair has urged Keir Starmer to ignore “the inevitable criticism” that will be directed at him on social media. Here's a better piece of advice. Ignore Tony Blair.
And here is my own tip for anyone in politics. No matter where you are or what you are doing, just ask yourself, how would this look on the front page of the papers? Already the deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has been seen boogying like a teenager in Ibiza. She is entitled to spend her leisure time as she wishes, but doesn't her Lady in Red act sit oddly with the hair-shirt, hand-wringing hard times and difficult decisions Sir Keir is forecasting?
Next, we have the curious case of Labour's Jess Phillips seemingly suggesting that she got quicker treatment in an NHS hospital because the doctor was a Palestinian who approved of her stance on a ceasefire in Gaza. This raises disturbing questions including, what sort of treatment can Jewish patients expect in the same NHS hospital?
Finally, a distinguished columnist draws attention to Starmer's apparent fondness for accepting freebies, including a day at the races and hospitality at Spurs and Chelsea. The writer detects “something of a pattern” and claims: “By last summer, Starmer had accepted more freebies than all Labour leaders since 1997 combined.”
You might expect the right-wing media to target Starmer for accepting gifts. But this item was penned by Owen Jones, a darling of the Left, writing for the Guardian. When your own comrades are sniping when you're barely two months into office, who knows what muck may be flying by Christmas?
About half a million children start their school life this week, including our grandson, neat as ninepence in his new school jumper and eager, after a few months of pre-school half- days, to become a fully signed-up member of Reception. I racked my brains for some brilliant gem of advice as he stands on a threshold of this great adventure, maybe something from Shakespeare or the great poets. In the end all I could think of was: If you aren't sure that you can last until the next wee break, then you probably can't. As Byron put it.
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