No - not men in general - just two men. And they are Sir Keir Starmer and my son Ian. As Keir was resigning as Britain's prime minister this morning, Ian was flying back to London from The Netherlands after participating in the Ironman event in Hoorn.
I liked and respected Keir Starmer. As this country's political leader he was intelligent, hard-working, caring and clean as a whistle. He gathered good Labour people around him and was making a real mark on the international stage. Keir managed to bring Labour back from the edge of oblivion. Under Jeremy Corbyn, we seemed to be heading for extinction but Keir turned the party around.
During debates before the Brexit referendum in 2016, Keir was vehemently against leaving The European Union so I think it is tragically ironic that the repercussions of that dumb choice have been like thorns in his side throughout his premiership. We have gained nothing of note from Brexit.
Also from day one, Britain's right wing media campaigned against him, carping and haranguing - never giving credit where credit was due. It was like a concerted campaign to "Get Labour!" and "Get Keir!" and it was so vitriolic that it even caused many of of those who had voted Labour into office to question themselves as well as Keir's worthiness. That besmirching campaign was as unpatriotic as it was contrived but in the end, sad to say, it worked.
Keir left office with his head held high, in a thoughtful, dignified and honest manner. His emotions threatened to get the better of him when he referred to the support that his wife and children had given him but he managed to hold himself together. Perhaps this great country did not deserve a decent man like him at the helm. Here he was this very morning in Downing Street - I hope you will be able to see this BBC clip in foreign lands...
And the other man - my son Ian. Born in August 1984, he has only recently taken up marathon running but to test himself further, he signed up for a big Ironman event in The Netherlands. This involved swimming 1.2 miles in open water, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13 mile run. Ian completed this feat in just under seven hours and I am, of course, immensely proud of him. It's just a shame that Shirley and I could not be there to cheer him on. Oh - and what a great ambassador he is for veganism...
Sir "two tier" Starmer, who was so proud of his country that he openly claimed that he would far rather be a WEF pawn than actually serve his country of birth. Who gained the nickname of "freebie" for his shameless acceptance of any and all gifts of suits, glasses, hospitality etc that he could lay his hands on. Who had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into finally agreeing to a watered down and toothless inquiry into the Pakistani mass rape scandals of the past two decades, including turning a blind eye when he was DPP. A man with such an inflated opinion of his own importance that he had a special act of parliament passed to ensure that his obscene pension would be protected from the taxes levied on other mere mortals' incomes......
ReplyDeleteWho gave him the nickname "Freebie"? Again those right wing media folk who were determined to bring him down. It is never a name that I have ever applied to him because it was unjustified. In my opinion, your bitter interpretation of Sir Keir's premiership and indeed his decent character is grossly unfair Will. Was it scripted by "The Daily Mail" or GB News?
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