Dear readers, from my house to yours, Nollaig shona daoibh go léir!
Just two sleeps until Christmas. So today I’ll give the local politicos a break.
Though it’s worth noting that the leader of the Opposition at Stormont, Matthew O’Toole, got wholeheartedly into the Christmas spirit with his seasonal greetings by depicting himself as Ebenezer Scrooge alongside the Muppets. Just who exactly constituted the Muppets is left to open interpretation.
Mind you, Rachel Reeves, the UK Chancellor, is morphing into a real-life Mrs Scrooge – no winter fuel allowance for senior citizens, a raid on pensions, a hit on inheritances, picking a non-winnable fight with farmers and now, no justice for the WASPI campaigners.
Pre-election Labour were all things to all people. Jam today, tomorrow and the day after.
Unfortunately, when Labour opened the Tory larder, there wasn’t anything remotely financially spreadable.
Certainly the WASPI women had their expectations raised when eager shadow ministers photobombed every campaign opportunity with a message of support.
Labour appears to be struggling in office. Anything good is drowned out by muddled messaging and a very obvious lack of empathy.
If the lack of empathy persists, it will be nearly impossible to turn around the dreadful polling numbers.
The prime minister is probably looking forward to getting under the duvet during the Christmas break. Unfairly he’s had no honeymoon.
Being in Opposition is relatively easy – especially when the government was as clapped-out and catastrophic as the three previous administrations of Sunak, Truss and Johnson.
But just as we of a certain vintage sent our lists up the chimney to Santa, so too went up in smoke the hopes of British voters.
The Labour Leader (and his colleagues) canvassed the country, practically inviting the British public to write extensive wish-lists for Christmas 2024 under a new Labour government.
In less than six months, Starmer/Reeves have gone from being the happy-go-lucky, optimistic political versions of Mr & Mrs Wilkins Micawber to merchants of miseries as Mr and Mrs Wackford Squeers (Obligatory Dickens references – after all it’s Christmas week).
With Germany and France struggling to maintain stability and Trump only weeks from the White House, the prime minister needs to beef up his entire cabinet with more experienced advisors.
The appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK Ambassador to the USA is an interesting move. The result will go either spectacularly wrong or prove to be inspired.
Mandelson is like Marmite. His skills and charm are matched by a very strong self-regard and being a bit of a wisenheimer. A Trump White House will be challenging for the one-time Prince of Darkness, now strutting the stage as a statesman.
Jimmy Carter, the former American president, is widely regarded as a man of great integrity but in office he was incredibly unlucky.
He also had a habit of spelling things out for the public and telling it as it was. Unfortunately, directness does not always pay in politics.
This is a trait which Starmer appears to share.
The British public have been worn down with a perpetual cost of living crisis, the aftermath of Covid, and corruption at the heart of government. More of the same isn’t what they want to hear.
The announcement by the Bank of England that interest rates won’t be lowered because the economy is faltering couldn’t have come at a worse time for the government.
There’s an immediate need to start the New Year on a high and notch up a few big wins. As witnessed with the Truss and Sunak premierships, when public confidence ebbs away, nothing can stop it turning into a political tsunami.
But a final thought on the season.
As wars rage and peace seems elusive, let’s remember the centrality of the good news at Christmas.
“For a dream,” described by poet Thomas Kettle, “born in a herdsman’s shed, and for the secret scripture of the poor”.