The Prime Minister, it turns out, does not read this column of a Sunday morning he is too busy making pancakes.
David Cameron revealed last week that he switches off from his day job by cooking with his kids at the weekend. He was talking crpes on a radio phone-in, one of a whirlwind of public appearances including breakfast TV, a question and answer session in a factory and a visit to hospital.
Like a straw-chewing yokel, he offered his thoughts unbidden on any passing bandwagon from cyber-bullying to Wayne Rooney’s future.
He even went to meet a few yokels in person at the North Devon country show where he quizzed a farmer about the difference between Belgian and British blue cows.
Cameron’s companion at the country show was Environment Secretary Owen Paterson. O-Patz is popular with farmers for his decision to wage war on badgers in an effort to eradicate TB in cows.
The controversial cull begins soon and Cameron said the decision to go ahead took “political courage” a phrase reminiscent of Yes Minister civil servant Sir Humphrey’s description of his politician bosses’ daft decisions as “brave”.
Cameron may be reminded of that definition when the photos of badger carcasses piled high start emerging in a few weeks’ time.
All this fairly vacuous activity by the Prime Minister was in an effort to keep up the momentum the Tories have apparently built up going into the summer.
It’s worth noting, however, that any improvement in the Tories’ poll rating has been not at the expense of Labour but of Ukip.
Out of the news, Ukip have slipped back. Which is why they may have been secretly delighted to hit the headlines again last week, even if it was because one of their members had spouted something easily construed as a bit racist.
Having previously offended half the human race with his comment that “a woman’s place is cleaning behind the fridge” Godfrey Bloom MEP, Ukip grandee and blowhard managed to offend an entire continent by claiming the government wastes money on international aid for “Bongo Bongo Land” an old-fashioned and unpleasant label for Africa.
Bloom later attempted to explain his blunder with reference to excellently-named president of Gabon, Ali Bongo his father was presumably a fan of the 1970s magician and thinking man’s Paul Daniels and a rare African springbok called a bongo.
One suspects that in his attempt to save face Bloom increased his knowledge of all things African by at least 100%.
It’s claimed Tory election supremo Lynton Crosby passed on the footage of Bloom’s blooper in an attempt to discredit Ukip but, given much of their appeal is based on their lack of political correctness, that may backfire.
At any rate it is Labour from whom the Tories need to pick up votes if they want to win and that isn’t happening the gap between the parties is as flat as one of the PM’s pancakes. This despite Labour offering next to nothing in response to the Conservatives’ media onslaught.
On Monday a number-crunching exercise on living standards was out-sparkled by George Osborne’s announcement that since the Lib Dems nixed his last attempt at a childcare policy he’d come up with a better one.
The always excellent Caroline Flint popped up at the end of the week to have a kick at energy companies but, with the sun still shining, no one really wants to be reminded of fuel bills right now.
Which is also why the Department for Energy sneaked out news last week that they’d redefined the concept of fuel poverty and surprise, surprise under the new rules fewer people are affected.
Ed Miliband and almost his entire shadow cabinet have been posted missing since parliament broke up, yet Labour’s poll lead remains stubborn.
Could it be that people like politicians who just keep quiet?
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