The few members of government who weren’t at a Taylor Swift concert or on a shopping trip with Lord Ali were busy changing the pictures at Downing St, moving images of Margaret Thacher, Gladstone and replacing portraits of Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Raleigh with two works by the late Paula Rego. The outrage, fury and calls for inquiries from the Tories, amplified by their supporters in the media has been astonishing not least because of the blatant hypocrisy. The changes to the pictures were long planned since before the election and timed to mark the 125th anniversary of the Government Art Collection. It has 15,000 works of art which are displayed in government buildings in the UK and around the world to, as it says on the website ‘…. contribute to the UK’s cultural diplomacy … its soft power, culture and values.’ Nothing to see there then apart from a few pictures obviously.
Taylor Swift gets a blue light escort to Wembley – a decision taken by the Met and in the wake of her concerts being cancelled in Vienna after a credible threat seems quite reasonable. Taylor Swift met the Prime Minister at one of her Wembley gigs and chatted for a few moments. Quite possibly they spoke about the appalling attack in Southport where three little girls at a Taylor Swift dance class were murdered and several others injured. The singer met with the families and victims of the attack. She makes significant donations to food banks in every city she performs in, brings in millions to the economy and as a self-confident, savvy businesswoman, proud childless cat lady and supporter of Kamala Harris is not a bad role model for millions of young girls. So nothing to see there either.
What about the Chagos Islands then? I doubt if more than a handful of MPs could have pointed to them on a map a couple of weeks ago but cue more Tory outrage at the Labour government returning the islands to Mauritius. Whatever next, the Falklands, Gibraltar, Tunbridge Wells? Negotiations began under the Conservatives after years of the UK defying court rulings – including a UN general assembly vote which said the islands should return to Mauritius. Oh dear, nothing to see here after all.
The Tories have got to be furious about something. Partly because they have no excuses for 14 years of neglect, failure and chaos but mainly because they haven’t got any policies other than attacking the current government. Fearless Kemi B who’s attacked civil servants and maternity pay has sunk to new low by dragging autistic children into her anti woke rants while her rival for the Tory crown Bobby J continues his theme tune about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights and wanting to cut benefits (but not the winter fuel allowance to wealthy pensioners).
The budget on October 30th is the big moment in the political calendar but November 2nd when we know the result of the Tory leadership promises much more fun as whoever wins will surely implode with anger finding things to get outraged by. Bring it on.
