It’s odds on that the next Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be a one-time user of illegal drugs.
Or in some cases, two or three times. The Tory leadership candidates are not always entirely clear on that point.
Michael Gove snorted them, Andrea Leadsom, Dominic Raab and Rory Stewart smoked theirs, while Jeremy Hunt was more original in consuming his in a milkshake.
Boris Johnson both smoked and snorted. And apparently sneezed.
While Jeremy Corbyn did not either snort or smoke. He’s never taken drugs in his life.
In this day and age, many people from all walks of life and in all levels of seniority, have experimented with drugs – and politicians are no different.
But it shows a certain hypocrisy when they lecture the rest of us about the dangers of substance abuse.
However, their experiences will not go to waste if whoever wins No10 launches an open and honest debate about drugs in our society.
Police admit they are losing the war against them. Organised crime profits. Addicts commit crime to feed their habit.
The debate should be over whether drug-taking should be treated more as a social and health issue than a criminal one.
Only a Royal Commission examining all the facts can establish the right policy for this country. And the next PM should set one up without delay.
NHS is priceless
Frankie Shopland should not be alive. He may be a boisterous three-year-old now, but he could hardly have been born with more wrong with him.
His right lung and kidney were missing, and his heart was on the wrong side.
Putting that right involved placing the medical equivalent of scaffolding inside his tiny body to keep his remaining organs in place. Many operations followed.
As far as his parents know, there is no one else in the world like Frankie. His condition does not even have a name.
Frankie is quite simply a miracle of medical science. And he is also testament to the dedication, skill and determination of all the NHS staff who put their hearts and souls into saving him.
No one can put a price on that. Which is why our NHS must never be for sale.
Princess push-y
Lovely to see Meghan had a push ring on her wedding finger when she appeared at the Queen’s 93rd birthday celebrations.
We know it’s one of those American imports which some of Harry’s aristocratic friends might sneer at.
But we like the idea that Meghan isn’t too posh to push.
