WHEN Labour came into power, Sir Keir Starmer’s first words were ones we all wanted to hear.
He told us: “We will carry the responsibility of your trust, as we rebuild our country. My government will serve you. Politics can be a force for good — we will show that.”
7
7
The PM’s get-tough decisions included axing the winter fuel allowance for ten million pensioners.
We were told to take it on the chin because the Tories had left the country with a £22billion black hole that needed filling.
We were told there was no alternative and things would get worse before they get better.
Basically, the message was that we all had to knuckle down and trust the Government in these hard times because they were on a mission to serve and rebuild our country.
But fast-forward 79 days and what have we found out about this Government?
That while they were planning to shove pensioners out in the cold, they were also taking hundreds of thousands of pounds in freebies.
While we have been tightening our belts, they were living the high life.
We’ve seen gifts of free clothes, free designer glasses, free tickets to Taylor Swift gigs, free tickets to the Arsenal.
On Friday night, after being caught out and facing a huge backlash, Sir Keir had to make a U-turn.
He put an end to Wardrobe-gate by vowing that he and his top staff would stop taking the freebie clothes and glasses.
But that won’t stop them sticking their hands out for other freebies.
Labour backer Lord Waheed Alli has handed out more than £300,000 in donations to Sir Keir and his senior ministers.
Astoundingly insensitive
The PM used Lord Alli’s £18million London penthouse during his No10 campaign.
Starmer’s deputy, Angela Rayner, meanwhile, swanned around in Lord Alli’s £2million New York flat on the 56th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper.
Sir Keir has declared more gifts than any other major party leader in recent times.
His wife hasn’t gone without, either.
Victoria Starmer was given a personal shopper, clothes and alterations before and after the election.
Angela Rayner has had clothes too, to the tune of £2,230.
And Starmer’s Cabinet have lined up for donations.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy was given £12,500 to pay for additional staff, Health Secretary Wes Streeting received £14,600 and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband got £10,000 last year.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall have had £14,000 and £15,475, respectively.
Sir Keir tried to justify his actions and said he “followed the rules” and had been transparent in declaring the gifts.
But he seemed to be missing the point.
Playing by the rules doesn’t make it right.
Sir Keir is a multi-millionaire, on £166,786 a year, who can afford his own box at the football, and his bill at Specsavers.
And at a time of hardship for many, all this largesse looks astoundingly insensitive.
In a very short time, the Government appears to have taken our trust and trampled all over it.
And I bet every pensioner who is terrified about turning on their heating this winter agrees.
The PM must look again at the promises he made.
This is a government that promised to be a force for good — not full of greed and lacking in compassion.
Sir Keir says he and his ministers are all about service.
But the question is, are they serving us or themselves?
Chesney’s all together a good laugh, I reckon
CHESNEY HAWKES has been slammed after stripping off for a new music video – but I am loving his attitude.
He goes fully naked in a Saltburn-inspired promo for Get A Hold Of Yourself because he wanted to “feel free in my fifties”.
7
7
He says: “The ‘not giving a f***’ thing is important in life.
“That’s one of the reasons I wanted to have fun with the video for this song.
“I bare it all in the video and just kind of went, ‘F*** it, I’m having fun’.”
Good on Chesney – he really is the one and only.
Beware losing on Liam
OASIS fans are set to get another chance to see Liam and Noel on stage when tickets for their North America tour go on sale on Friday.
But maybe they shouldn’t rush to buy them.
7
On the first night of their maiden US tour in 1994, Noel temporarily quit after a row with Liam, and in 1996 Liam ditched the gigs to go house-hunting.
He only turned up towards the end, leading the brothers to split up.
Unless they’ve developed a “show must go on” attitude, forking out for those tickets may be a very risky business.
This must stop
NEW data that shows girls of 14 have reported more rapes to police than any other age group in the past year is absolutely heartbreaking.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper believes it is because boys’ views of sex are being shaped by violent online porn, with social media firms failing in their “moral obligation” to protect kids.
She says there’s responsibility on all of us to look at how we protect kids.
I totally agree.
Because data from the year before shows it was 15-year-olds who reported the most rapes – and we all need to help stamp out this child cruelty as fast as we can.
David’s on a hat trick
DAVID BECKHAM gets so obsessed by certain TV shows that he starts acting the parts, he has revealed.
Goldenballs says: “Victoria will always laugh at me because, whenever there’s a TV show I’m watching, I kind of morph into a character.”
7
7
Sounds like living with Mr Benn from the Seventies children’s TV show, whose visits to a fancy dress shop ended up with him having adventures that fitted his costume, before he returned to his real life.
David says there has been a gangster phase thanks to Peaky Blinders and a cowboy one after watching American TV series Yellowstone, which apparently Victoria “kind of liked”.
Oh, I bet she did.
Fergie’s Dementia home truths
SIR ALEX FERGUSON was an inspiration and renowned for his straight-talking attitude during his time at Manchester United.
He’s now been retired for 11 years but is still speaking frankly – and his words about dementia will probably make a huge difference to the fans who still worship him.
Fergie says: “I’m 82, and obviously I worry about it.
“Genuinely, my memory is quite good, praise the Lord.”
He says he reads a lot and does YouTube quizzes which he thinks “helps”.
There will probably now be a fair few Man U fans doing them too.
Burger off TGI
THE owner of the UK arm of TGI Fridays has gone into administration.
I am not surprised.
I took my five-year-old there for a “treat” after he eyed up one of their restaurants on a recent shopping trip.
I was so horrified by the prices, I vowed never to return.
A jolly, badge-covered waitress could never compensate for a run-of- the-mill burger that costs more than £20.