THERE is not much that Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon have in common but their present vicissitudes have one obvious characteristic — they are excellent news for Labour. Elections are lost by governing parties as well as won by the Opposition, and not just in England. The arrest of the former SNP leader can only damage the standing of the party so we may yet see a return of the dormant beast that is the Scottish Labour Party.
The infighting within the Tories in the wake of the resignation as an MP of Boris Johnson and two colleagues is, similarly, excellent news for Sir Keir Starmer. Johnson is the most colourful figure in contemporary politics and his — probably temporary — departure from the scene means politics will be a good deal less interesting, but the manner of his exit has not been edifying. He does have a point that the chair of the parliamentary committee that condemned him, Harriet Harman, does not appear impartial, given that she expressed her views on his behaviour before proceedings began. And arguably, Sue Gray, his earlier nemesis, seems compromised, given her attempt to join Sir Keir’s team. Yet the charge that he misled the Commons about whether Downing Street broke lockdown rules imposed on the rest of the country is what matters.
Labour now has the heady possibility of winning three by-elections (and if it overturns a Tory majority of over 20,000 in North Yorkshire, no seat is safe) in the year before a general election while watching the SNP engage in the kind of infighting under its unimpressive leader which puts Tory squabbles in the shade. Yet there is still much for Rishi Sunak to play for. As we report today, a number of indicators suggest that the economy is on the turn, from the CBI report that the UK will escape recession to the cheerful finding that Tube journey figures are almost back to pre-pandemic normal. All is not lost for the Tories, yet.
Ofsted rating: good
OFSTED has changed some of its practices following the suicide of a head teacher whose school was downgraded from outstanding to inadequate as a result of flaws in its safeguarding procedures. This paper supports Ofsted and the principle of accountability but its one-word summaries of schools’ performances could usefully be replaced with one or two sentences to give a better idea of the strengths of a school. Furthermore, the safeguarding rating should be reported separately from issues such as pupils’ happiness and academic performance. Let parents decide.
Out for lunch
OF all the good economic news today, perhaps the most heartening is that lunch is back. That is to say, people are now eating out at lunchtime and for dinner early in the week rather than merely from Thursday to Sunday evenings. In other words, we seem to be returning to something like a proper working week. The renaissance of lunch is good news for us all.
