A top aide to Labour leader Andy Burnham has sparked outrage by claiming Burnham will be the party's first female prime minister 'in all but sex', a comment described as 'monumentally stupid' by columnist Carole Malone.
Writing in a scathing opinion piece, Malone said Labour has never had a female leader in its 126-year history because the party believes 'no woman is up to the job'. She argued that pretending Burnham could channel a woman as a 'lame substitute' is 'sick' and a warning of 'lunacy to come'.
Rachel Reeves under fire over economy claims
Malone also took aim at Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who this week claimed that whoever inherits the Treasury will find the economy in better shape than she did. Malone questioned how the £3 trillion debt and £60 billion black hole created by Reeves leaves the economy improved, adding that Reeves said she still has 'unfinished business at the Treasury'.
'Dear God – Burnham needs to get her out now before she wrecks what's left of the country,' Malone wrote.
Natural England criticised over Dartmoor ponies
The column also attacked Natural England for plans to cull Dartmoor ponies, noting there are fewer than 1,000 left and they have grazed freely for over 3,000 years. Malone accused the quango of killing 250,000 badgers in 2013 and now insisting ponies are livestock, removing subsidies for locals to care for them.
'Instead of culling them, let's cull the moronic quango that wants rid of them. The ponies are more use to our ecosystems than they ever will be,' she wrote.
King Charles sets example during heatwave
Malone praised King Charles, 77, for working in 35°C heat wearing a suit and tie, contrasting this with 'chancers, skivers and wimps' who avoided work due to the heatwave. She said summer days are being treated as a national emergency and used as excuses for school and office closures.
National Portrait Gallery criticised over Churchill video
The columnist also slammed the National Portrait Gallery for displaying a 40-minute video by artist Helen Cammock accusing Winston Churchill of deliberately starving Indians during the Bengal Famine. Malone said Cammock should 'get her facts right' and noted that Churchill made 'Herculean efforts' to alleviate the famine, which was caused by natural disasters, by organising supplies from Britain and begging Australia, Canada and the US for help.
Labour's lentil plan and other controversies
Malone mocked Labour's plan to tell farmers to stop rearing cattle and grow lentils instead, saying it would reduce methane from cattle but increase human flatulence. She also praised the 'Darlington Seven' nurses who won £187,000 after legal action over a transwoman using their changing rooms, and criticised Camden Council for ordering residents to remove air conditioning units due to carbon dioxide emissions, suggesting they open windows instead.
