Prime Minister 2

    I want to continue my theme of 29th April [1] titled 'Prime Minister'; so I have titled this post 'Prime Minister 2'. Twelve days ago Sir Keir Starmer was being badgered by the media over his handling of the Epstein/Mandelson affair; now it is the aftermath of the revolutionary, but inconclusive, election that is exciting the press. 

    No one doubts that there is a great deal of frustration in the country about the way things are going. My own list of grumbles might include: our failure to curb Russia, USA, Israel, unemployment of school- and college-leavers, a rising benefits-budget, continued illegal immigration (albeit at a slower rate), collapsing health (and dental) services, cost of housing, cost of living, potholes. Sure! There is much that appears to be going wrong.

    But the idea that either Reform or the dispirited Conservative party could do better seems to me ludicrous. Admittedly, there is not much that the average citizen can do other than to cast a vote. As some of our comedians have said: the votes cast for Reform and the Greens are really anti-votes, against Conservative and Labour.

    There is a faint trace of rationality in the idea of lowering taxes in the hope of 'kick-starting the economy'. Equally rational, however, is to raise taxes to invest in infrastructure. We dither. We try both. We clearly need more than that level of leadership.

    I wish there were a coffee-house somewhere in London where one could go to see and eavesdrop on real grown-up experts talking about politics. Or go to Frankfurt, Paris, Milan; or Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen. I mean –– how are our colleagues coping with their own economies?