+1
Also very sad that a multi millionaire with a very good salary on top of his investment income can't like normal people buy his own tickets to watch his favourite football team. He can afford his own, secure private box and I'm sure Arsenal would appreciate the income.
You can't say honour, integrity and ability in the same sentence as politician.
In 1985 I was appointed as a magistrate, in which role I served for 22 years.
When we were sworn in and took the judicial oath, a wise experienced judge gave us the benefit of his wisdom and said:
"You and I are performing a civic duty on behalf of members of the public who have certain expectations of how we conduct ourselves. There are lots of things we all do at times, which - though not against the law - are perhaps questionable. The best advice I can give you is that if there is anything you are doing, or are thinking of doing, which - if it became public knowledge would cause people to say 'Fancy that, and him a magistrate' - you'd best not do it".
It's stuck in my mind ever since, and the word 'magistrate' could be substituted for vicar, solicitor, teacher, doctor, politician, MP, Councillor, or any similar role in life. Starmer has said 'he's not broken any rules'. That may be so, but I guess many will be thinking, and indeed are saying: "Fancy that - and him the leader of the government who has said he's on a mission to clean up politics".
He and the rest of them say they'll stop doing it, but there's no contrition or admission (in fact, some indignation), that against the bleak background they're painting, they should never have done it in the first place.
The true extent to which Starmer, Rayner, Reeves, Lammy et al have benefitted from the largesse of donors, and disguised the purpose for which the money was
actually used is beyond belief. (Not just ‘the Emperor’s clothes’ but the Empresse's too). When in opposition, Starmer adopted a sanctimonious, holier than thou, self-righteous air about the excesses of the likes of Johnson, and when campaigning prior to the election, said he would ‘bring back trust into politics’, stamp out Tory sleaze and cronyism, ‘renew the foundations’ and had a ’fully costed and fully funded’ manifesto.
This is worth a read:
https://www.ft.com/content/2a218255-c08e-4091-8c7a-f51dd46795be
What happened to his ‘moral compass?
In just a few weeks, he’s demonstrated that there’s a gaping ‘black hole’ in the middle of his government where leadership, thinking, empathy, strategy, understanding and competence should be. Instead, he blames every misstep he makes on the Tories ‘black hole’ and keeps banging on about how much worse it’s going to be before it gets better. Just trying to soften everyone up for the ‘big steal’ looming in October.
Here’s what he said when in Opposition:
“If I were Prime Minister, we would have an Office of Value for Money on behalf of taxpayers, an anti-corruption commission with real teeth and far greater transparency on how your hard-earned money is spent. And we’d toughen the rules so MPs can’t profit from their office and open the door to vested interests. That is a serious plan to clean up Westminster”.
Really, that should be posted in the ’Joke’ section.
When in opposition and it was rumoured that the Tories were to cut winter fuel allowance, Labour produced research which found that 4,000 pensioners could die if the allowance was cut. They clearly haven’t done one before scrapping the allowance in such haste. All that’s happened since their previous assessment is that energy costs have gone sky high. If/when the policy does cause vulnerable elderly people to die this winter, Starmer won’t be able to plead ignorance.
We’re told that 880,000 of the poorest pensioners are eligible for the 'Pension Credit' support who are yet to claim. To be able to claim, 234 questions need to be answered on a 26-page form to be filled in online. Let’s suppose that they all did claim, that would require 880,000 26-page forms to be checked and involve vetting 202,920,000 answers to see if the applicants qualified.
Just who would do that, in what timescale, and at what cost?
He’s been shamed into making a ‘U’ turn on not expecting donors to provide him and others with clothes, tickets for shows etc, (and in Rayner’s case, five nights in a luxury hotel in New York, and Reeves a week in Cornwall). There's a chill in the air, and winter is around the corner. There’s still time for him to recognise this monumental lapse of judgement and make a ‘U’ Turn on winter fuel.
Just imagine the outcry from Labour if, (big if), the Tories been elected and scrapped it.
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