Starmer’s specs appeal

No doubt Lord Alli should not have been given a 10 Downing Street pass, but that is true of most who work there. BB (Before Blair), roughly 100 people were in the building. Today, it is 300. The quality of government has deteriorated as the numbers have swelled. At least Lord Alli has been genuinely useful. It is officially declared that he gave Sir Keir Starmer ‘multiple pairs of glasses’ worth £2,485. It was an inspired move. Until about April this year, Sir Keir did not wear spectacles on public occasions. Observers concentrated on his startled and unhappy-looking eyes because they were the only striking thing in his oddly inexpressive face. Once Lord Alli had found him the right frames (slightly reminiscent of old ‘National Health specs’, but with a reassuringly expensive finish), Sir Keir looked avuncular, wiser, more prime ministerial. An election landslide was in the bag. 

Labour priggishness inevitably invites accusations of sleaze to mark its first hundred days.