I confess to no longer following UK politics or, frankly, the news in general. For the past year or two, I have been on a mission to quiet the 10,000 monkies in my head. I am concluding that most of the modern world’s ills are down to too much information and endless stimulations and distractions. I have yet to reach a state of blissful nirvana, but as we all know, it’s not the destination; it’s the journey that is important.
When I think back to my youth, politicians seemed to have a bit of personality. You could actually name the cabinet members. Now, I could only name one: Rachel Reeves. I don’t even know who the Conservative leader is these days – nor do I care to know.
Keir Starmer is so utterly bland and charisma-free. On paper, he looks good—a working-class boy who has done well for himself—but he is not exactly an inspiring leader. For my sins, I caught part of Rachel Reeves’ speech on the news last night, and she also seems to have the same droney nasal delivery as Keir Starmer. I am trying not to break our own rules with man/woman playing, but holy moly, modern politicians seem particularly dry and devoid of any character.
I was thinking about all this on the day of John Prescott’s funeral. Say what you like about the former Deputy Prime Minister, but he had personality (and a mean right hook).
Modern politicians seem to be cloned in some giant laboratory somewhere. They all have a similar backstory, university, and then an advisor/consultant role. They have all the charm of an accountancy firm. To quote Oscar Wilde, ‘they know the price of everything and the value of nothing’.
But as I said before, who would be a politician, given the grief they receive from the public and the media? So, I suppose we get the leaders we deserve.
I will leave you with this exchange between John Prescott and William Hague:
Just been sent this. Think he won that one. pic.twitter.com/wrRVmzgiH3
— William Hague (@WilliamJHague) November 21, 2024
Former and current prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Sir Keir Starmer were among the mourners who have arrived for the funeral of Lord John Prescott.#lordjohnprescott #uknews #ukpolitics #skynews pic.twitter.com/TZn0GPeS8r
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 30, 2025
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
Discover more from Slugger O’Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
