Though Westminster’s reeling in shock at the brutal murder of former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe, and questions abound about the personal safety of public figures, the tussles at the top grind on. With two stories jostling for the top slot. The one about the man about to start running the country and the by-election at a seaside town in Essex. Crazy times. But, as our Political Correspondent Peter Spencer reports, there’s more to that dilemma than meets the eye.
To deal with the shorter term tale first, Andy Burnham really does need to get a wiggle on, now that it’s as good as confirmed that he’ll pick up the keys to Number Ten in just over a week’s time.
As he himself conceded, it’s starting to feel very real. And he’s got a whole mountain range of stuff to sort in extremely short order.
Like deciding who exactly will be in his cabinet, and how even roughly he plans to reverse the country’s ailing fortunes.
On the fundamental fronts of defence, security and economic management he’ll stick broadly to existing guidelines. But that leaves lots of leeway in other areas.
Shifting power and money away from the affluent south to the regions is a top priority. Along with improving transport links and building loads more council houses.
And on taxation, he wants to see a shift from milking workers to creaming more off people who’ve got lots of lolly stashed away.
Then there’s the methodology. One reason Keir Starmer so totally lost the support of his own MPs is that he was hardly on speaking terms with them.
Not that he hated them, he just didn’t see it as part of his job to keep them onside. Many in his circle now
ruefully admit he never really got politics. To his cost.
The same as for doctors, dentists, engineers or whatever, there’s a skillset to be mastered. And if you don’t, you can’t do the job. It really is that simple.
King Henry the fifth got the idea, rallying the troops before the battle of Agincourt. Likewise Good Queen Bess when the Spanish Armada was heading our way.
When you’re up against it big time, jollying the chaps along can make all the difference.
On the subject of wars, at least Starmer did make a fair fist, pardon pun, of keeping our end up on the world stage.
All very well his detractors labelling him Never Here Keir, he did have a lot on his plate on that front.
And with Ukraine and Iran both ramping up, not to mention America under Trump going a bit bonkers, Burnham will have to do some deft delegation if he’s to avoid falling into Starmer’s trap.
Not that The Donald himself has too much to worry about, at least not moneywise, as he’s trousered a couple of billion dollars since he got back to the White House. Nice work if you can get it?
He’s also really got the hang of swerving accusations of, well, anything really, by squealing about how beastly everyone’s being to him. Establishment stitch-up and all that.
Cue Nigel Farage and his little local difficulty about the stashes that’ve been funnelled his way from one source and another.
It’s getting hard to keep up with the tally of tricksy questions he’s being called upon to answer. Largely centred on why he kept schtum about it all.
There’ve now been not one but two investigations launched by the parliamentary sleaze watchdog, and Knacker of the Yard is also sniffing around one of his top team’s finances.
Farage’s biggest solid wedge came from an overseas-based crypto currency dealing chum who slipped him a cool five million in the year before he became an MP.
He maintains the man was just being nice so there was no need to mention it. Same applies to the funding and property leg-up generously provided by his aristo mate nicknamed Posh George.
Ever so well connected though this young man is, he’s also a convicted crim. Did time Stateside for nicking money.
To cap it all, it now seems the cops are wondering about half a mill passed the Reform party’s way by this lad’s mum, Fiona Cottrell.
This lady briefly got the tabs going back in the 1970s when it’s said she dated the then Prince Charles for a while. But she could do without the current curiosity, same as Farage.
Hence his Trump-style hissy fit about how everyone’s got it in for him.
Hence also his cunning wheeze of not even waiting for possibly being made to stand down in Clacton by doing it anyway. Thus forcing the by-election scheduled for the middle of next month.
It looked like clever politics until it didn’t, when all the other main parties said in effect you’re ’aving a laugh, chum. Announcing in short order they’d boycott the whole thing.
Upshot being the good people of Clacton will have to fork out nearly a quarter of a million pounds for an exercise in total pointlessness.
They’ll almost certainly vote him back in anyway. But the longer term implications for Farage’s future are potentially profound.
For many months the polls have given him a fair wind to become Prime Minister at the next general election.
But he and his team will be watching those same polls anxiously from now on for a number of very good reasons.
One is that his cheery chappie bloke down the pub mask has just taken a hard knock. Anyone watching his stepping down announcement last week could hardly fail to spot the difference.
Out with Nice Nige, in with Ferocious Farage. Not very likeable after all.
Then there’s that uncertainty over the money thing. All very well him saying there’s no law against getting rich. If there’s any suggestion that the gains are ill-gotten it’s a different story altogether.
And while a majority of people these days glean their news from social media sites, in which the keyboard warriors can make it all up as they go along, a fair slice of Tory voters are more traditionally minded.
Which means Farage’s decision to declare war on properly regulated outlets could come back to bite him.
The risk he’s running is that former Conservative supporters who drifted his way might suddenly start reading so many horrid things about that they’re minded to drift back to where they came from.
All that’s for the coming months and years. In the meantime, the upcoming Clacton by-election promises to be, well, interesting.
Of the handful of novelty candidates who will be standing the one who’s attracted the most interest is the professional comedian who trades and dresses as Count Binface.
It’s likely for once he’ll garner a reasonable chunk of votes, basically the anyone-but-Farage faction. Some even dare suggest he could win. So what’s he all about then?
In case anyone hadn’t realised, he professes to be the five thousand nine hundred year old leader of the Recyclons, hailing from the planet Sigma Nine.
He wanted to abolish Clacton pier, but u-turned when he learned it’s one of those sticky-out structures that people walk up and down, not the sort of peer that you see in the House of Lords.
Getting the idea here? You can’t say he isn’t a breath of fresh air.
Peter Spencer has 40 years experience as a Political Correspondent in Westminster, working with London Broadcasting and Sky News. For more of his fascinating musings on the turbulent political landscape, follow him on Facebook & Twitter.
Watch Peter’s report at peterspencer.org
Peter Spencer has 40 years experience as a Political Correspondent in Westminster, working with London Broadcasting and Sky News. For more of his fascinating musings on the turbulent political landscape, follow him on Facebook & Twitter.