David Hockney has died aged 88.

 I read with great sadness on the BBC website that the British artist Sir David Hockey, has died aged 88. He was part of an exclusive club, an Order of Merit (OM), a Companion of Honour  (CH) and Royal Academician (RA). His art in later life was - joyous and very colourful. I saw his last major exhibition at the RA a few years ago in the main galleries. He had taken up using a laptop to do his art. Another light goes out. 

Running out of road and time.

 A week today we will have the results of the Makerfield by-election, where Andy Burnham, is hoping to win. Should he do so with a comfortable majority, then the - starting gun will be fired for the leadership of the Labour Party and thereby the premiership of the country. Who else would join the race? Possibly Wes Streeting, the recently resigned health and social care secretary - will no doubt have a go. With the resignations of John Healey, the defence secretary and Al Carns, the minister of state, the prime minister is further bereft of support inside his own cabinet. He definitely won’t survive into the autumn and the party conference season. Starmer is running out of road and time for his beleaguered leadership. 

The defence secretary John Healey resigns.

 Due to the woeful leadership of Keir Starmer, John Healey the defence secretary - felt it necessary to resign. He has served the nation in the premierships of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Keir Starmer. The very fact that this highly respected politician and defence secretary, had to leave his post at this critical time internationally is a - mark of how useless the prime minister is. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, he is at pains to suggest that the defence budget is insufficient for the task of defending the country. He claims that the Treasury was ‘unwilling to provide the money and the prime minister was unable’ to insist that they did.This is the death bell for Starmer - as he is accused of not protecting his country from countries like Russia. There is no greater accusation than being a traitor. Next week we have the Makerfield by-election, that will probably bring Burnham into parliament and consequently a challenge to Starmer. 

Kick off tonight.

 After all the - huffing and puffing we are finally at the point of kick off. The first game is between  Mexico and South Africa in Mexico City. Both Canada and the United States, will put on their own opening over the weekend. I cannot see us being the ultimate winner of the tournament in a few weeks time. When we did win back in July 1966 - I was working at the National Theatre in the summer season at the Queen’s Theatre in Soho. The atmosphere was electric and combustible, with fans spilling onto the streets across Soho, with a sense of excitement and exhilaration. I recently watched a new in colour documentary about that final, back in 1966 and as I didn’t watch the original game, this was my first opportunity to do so. Overall I was impressed by our spirited performance. At full time the score was 2/2, se we went into extra time against West Germany. At the final whistle after extra time the score was 4/2 to England and Geoff Hurst, scored twice in extra time to complete his now famous hat trick, which gave us our only World Cup. In my opinion the final will be between France and Spain, with Spain the eventual winner of the tournament on the 19 July in New York. 

A tinderbox in Northern Ireland.

 Following the serious stabbing of a man on the streets of Belfast on Monday, there was further unrest last night, with busses set ablaze and police officers attacked. The perpetrator of the knife attack - was a 30 year old Sudanese man, who has been charged with attempted murder. It transpired that he had traveled from Paris to Dublin and then onto Belfast, where he sort asylum some time in 2023. Needless to say this case, following so quickly on the Harry Novak, one last week has only added fresh impetus to the crisis in the asylum system. Moreover the forthcoming by-election next week in Makerfield adds to the ongoing crisis of migration, whether legal or not The authorities in Northern Ireland and on the mainland are definitely on the back foot and leaving space for Nigel Farage and Reform to exploit the - tinderbox situation. The attacker appeared in court today and will remain in custody, until the next court appearance in the next few weeks. 

A Very British Civil War.

 On BBC Two last night there was a brilliant two part documentary about the parliamentary - ding-dong regarding leaving the European Union in: A Very British Civil War. Needless to say there was much - blood on the parliamentary carpet. The Vote Leave campaign had the famous slogan on the side of the battle bus, claiming to save £350 million per week. This slogan had a profound influence on the campaign. During the heated debates about the pros and cons regarding leaving the EU - there was the tragic murder of the MP Jo Cox on 16 June only a week before the referendum on the 23 June. What impact, if any would this terrible event have on the vote the following week? Old friendships and alliances were broken, especially between David Cameron, Michael Gove and Boris Johnson. That rupture hasn’t been repaired. I remember seeing the one time prime minister David Cameron, sitting in a bar in Dukes Hotel, St James’s, nursing a pint of beer, looking forlorn and depressed - all alone, apart from a security guard a few feet away and me. Amazingly it will be 10 years on 23 June - we crossed the Rubicon and decided to leave the EU. The vote to Leave was 52% and Remain 48%. 

Following the referendum the country suffered a collective - nervous breakdown and PTSD. We are still living with the consequences of this historic fracture. We had a collection of prime ministers, starting with the immediate departure of David Cameron. In total one after another with: Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and finally Keir Starmer. It’s very likely that he will be defenestrated in the next few weeks. The country isn’t at ease with itself and there is constant iner-communal tensions between different sectors of society. Illegal migration is one of the top issues the public are concerned about, especially those  crossing the Channel on small boats. There is a general sense of malaise across the country, with a feeling of drift and lack of purpose. We are definitely in the political doldrums, especially with Keir Starmer, as prime minister. Can a new one create a sense of purpose and optimism? 

Wes Streeting.

 On the Newsagent podcast there is an excellent in depth interview with Wes Streeing by Lewis Goodall - that should be listed to. He plans to run for the leadership on the Labour Party in the next few weeks. He wants a proper discussion about the - ideas and values that underpin the party He claims that generally speaking ‘he says what he means and means what he says’. He would in my opinion be the right person to lead the government and do a better job than Andy Burnham, who has less gravitates and intellectual rigour. Unfortunately I think there is a bandwagon - to go for Burnham and that will be difficult to stop. Until only a few weeks ago Wes Streeting, was the health and social care secretary, but resigned as he had lost confidence in Keir Starmer.