Starmer is falling into the same trap.
The Dame is not a pub-goer but understands it to be central to the lives of many as it has for centuries.
Starmer is a mundane criminal lawyer with the instincts of that breed.
Stopping people from doing 'this and that' is very much part of his makeup.
The idea you can stop people smoking in pub gardens is likely to be unenforceable but maybe the PM has been discussing with the Chinese whether he could buy their facial recognition cameras?
Approval ratings for this man have slumped dramatically. This sort of initiative will not help.
Blair had a unique understanding of the 'art of the politically possible'.
Starmer is not a political animal and lacks that special 'nous'.
Will we see next an attempt to stop people from smoking in their gardens?
If tobacco is a toxic substance it should be banned but of course that would further decrease tax revenues to support the lousily managed NHS.
Dear Dame, Thank you for your succinct political analysis. The Spectator's Steerpike column (20.1.23) with the title "Has Starmer's Davos gambit backfired?" is worth reading for the comment "Sir Keir seems a little too comfortable in the warm embrace of the global elite" --> https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/has-starmers-davos-gambit-backfired/
ReplyDeleteThank you 10:37...he has that failing of wanting to be loved by his global leader peers. He was probably bullied at school. David Milliband should have had the job....deft...charming and intelligent
DeleteLabour got elected on a vote less than Corbyn's on the strength of a bland manifesto that would not frighten the horses.
DeleteAs you note, there are influences such as the WEF, which uses manufactured climate concern as an excuse for control freakery. It has been pushing road pricing, as has the Tony Blair Institute, which claimed that if we didn't have it, the rush for Electric Vehicles would mean driving was so cheap there would be gridlock.
This is utter pap; private buyers have been avoiding BEVs, and a US government agency sees 80% of car sales being conventional ('ICE') engines in 2050. Cost pressures will restrict expenditure, including on fuel, which Labour is almost certain to tax hard. The Blair Institute, however, has been supplying staff and 'expertise' to Starmer....