Mark Andrews: Snowflakes feeling the heat, and do we really want a young prime minister?
The Telford carnival has been cancelled. A second Cobra meeting has been called, extreme weather warnings have been issued.
Well I guess snowflakes don't fare so well in sunshine.
There have even been reports that shopworkers can knock-off early if it gets a bit sticky. Good thing they didn't work in the Black Country chain shops.
What is it with people these days? The "extreme" weather so far has been confined to the 80s, with forecasts suggesting they might potentially tip 100 degrees. In other words, the sort of weather people normally spend thousands of pounds going on holiday for.
It's been years since we've had a decent summer. In a few months it will be freezing cold and the cost of energy will be going through the roof. Let's cut the whining and enjoy it while it lasts.
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I also wonder how many of the people demanding time off because it is too hot to work will spend their new-found leisure time holed up in a darkened room beneath a wet towel? Perish the thought they will head to the beach or the pub given the adverse of the weather conditions.
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All this comes the same week as a survey which found more than 70 per cent of people would sooner work for four days a week rather than five. You don't say. I suspect most employers would be fine with that. Providing they did it for four days' pay, obviously.
What is happening to our work ethic? Britain seems to be stuck in some post-pandemic hangover, where people have become unhealthily accustomed to staying at home and regarding work as an imposition.
But if people want their wages to keep up with the cost of living, they are going to have to start grafting for them.
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It is sobering to learn that, regardless of which candidate wins the Tory leadership election, the next prime minister will be younger than me.
Of course, that moment comes to everyone, but I'm not sure it is what we need at this time.
No doubt all the sleek, sharp-suited, shiny-faced forty-somethings are frightfully well educated, look good on television and can deliver a very polished speech from their autocue. They will talk about new ideas and fresh energy, but I would rather have a wise old head with lots of experience – both in politics and in the real world – tempered with a dash of world-weary cynicism.
Since the Second World War, we have had four prime ministers under the age of 50: Harold Wilson, John Major, Tony Blair and David Cameron.
I rest my case.
