The week ended with a partial agreement between Israel and Hamas on a pause in hostilities in Gaza, and the President once again renewing his claim to the Nobel Peace Prize.
I can remember when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the Vietnam War, though North Vietnam had effectively won it anyway. That decision drew much criticism and has long been viewed as one of the great ironies of modern history. Not that irony is in short supply, with a global peace prize named after a man, and a business, that made millions from dynamite and other explosives...
It struck me a couple of weeks ago that Trump might be a candidate for the Literature Prize, given his flair for fantasy and invention, both written and spoken. During his state visit to the UK, while repeating his claims to the Peace Prize, he confused Armenia with Albania and muddled some of the nations to whom he claimed to have brought peace. He also mispronounced Azerbaijan while referencing a conflict between Azerbaijan and Albania, a conflict that doesn’t actually exist.
He later dispatched the Texas National Guard to Illinois, citing lawlessness in the state, especially in Chicago. This caused quite an uproar, as Illinois is Democrat territory and control of the National Guard isn’t within a President’s powers. So, peace abroad, disquiet at home. All a bit tricky for The Donald…
Alastair Stewart: Remembrance becomes harder with each passing year, but also more important
|GB NEWS
Back here, the Tories held their annual conference. Tom Harwood and Olivia Utley were in sparkling form for GB News, as the party tried to launch a new set of policies, essentially a re-launch of leader Kemi Badenoch, amid whispers of a challenge from Robert Jenrick. I thought she did well. It was as if she had found her own Tim Bell and Maurice Saatchi—the two men who helped Thatcher define post-Heath Conservatism. Kemi seemed at peace with herself: she smiled, laughed, and delivered a few strong one-liners.
The Tories, I’ve always thought, are at their best when they stick to their core beliefs. Labour are at their worst when they stick to theirs. Kemi’s pitch was that people are best off when left with as much of their own money as possible, and when the state does as little as it reasonably can. She pledged that such principles would guide a future Conservative government.
She took a few swipes, at Ed Davey, Farage, and Starmer, but didn’t dwell on them, which was wise.
Our eldest, Alex, had watched Starmer’s speech with me earlier. Then, ahead of Kemi’s speech, our middle son Fred came over. He thought Mel Stride’s announcement about returning the first £5,000 of tax and NI to young workers was weak, “barely a scratch” on the challenge of saving for a house deposit, he said. He preferred the proposal to abolish Stamp Duty, but liked Reform UK’s plan even more, to greatly raise the personal tax and NI threshold. People like him, he said, just want to work hard and keep more of what they earn. Our daughter Clem also applauded the pledge to lift VAT from private school fees. And the commitment to supporting children with special educational needs was welcomed. The private sector, she said, has so much to offer, but not if it’s taxed out of existence. What a think tank our children make.
The week ended with a package from the Royal British Legion, a special enamel poppy, commemorating a young RAF officer who lost his life. I’ve been a lifelong supporter of the RBL. My mother served on the national committee of the Women’s Section, which is now merged with the main body, much to her frustration, if I remember rightly.
There’s a certain irony, of course, for those of us with dementia: Remembrance becomes harder with each passing year, but also more important. We will remember them, those who fought and died for our freedom and way of life.
I will wear my poppy with pride and ignore those who bleat against it.
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