The parable of Cameron’s kids

Will The Sun’s story about David Cameron leaving his daughter in a pub be politically damaging? Not in the least, I suspect. These stories only hurt if they seem to fit a trend of behaviour, or confirm what everyone suspects. But no one, even the prime minister’s harshest critic, could accuse him of neglecting his family or failing to prioritise his children. Those who have seen him around his kids usually come away feeling amazed, and envious, by the way he can just flick a switch, no matter how tough things are politically, and go into ‘family mode’: baking cakes, playing Star Wars games, being the model father. This is what’s meant by Cameron’s “chillaxing” — his striking ability to give his full attention to his family when anxious political types would be nervously checking their blackberries.

The idea of the PM taking his family out for a pub lunch is hardly politically damaging.