𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

One man who has had a woeful year is Keir Starmer, and it appears that his judgement at the end of the year is just as impaired as it was at the start. First of all he has given a peerage – a place in the House of Lords for life – to a supporter despite knowing he campaigned for a man charged with (and later convicted of) child sex offences. What on earth is he thinking? What kind of message does that send out?

But probably even worse than that he has put out a tweet expressing his “delight” that Alaa Abd El-Fattah is back in the UK and stating that his case “has been a top priority for my government since we came to office”. This is a man who is an anti-Semite who has said “there is a critical number of Israelis we need to kill”. The sooner Starmer is booted out of office – either by his own Party or the country – the better.

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The New Year Honours List always sparks a huge amount of debate – with questions being asked as to whether the recipients are truly deserving and why others were overlooked?

Obviously, it is impossible to produce a list which commands universal support. These things are – by their very nature – subjective, but here is a selection of people I believe should be recognised in this year’s Honours List:

The first is Archie Norman, Chairman of M&S. How Archie has neither been knighted nor put into the House of Lords is an absolute mystery to me. Without doubt he is one of the greatest business people this country has ever produced.

In the 1990s, he took ASDA from the verge of bankruptcy to being one of the most successful retailers in the UK; transformed the fortunes of ITV when the station was considered doomed and is now working his magic at M&S. Because of him tens of thousands of jobs have been either saved or created, and it is high time his enormous contribution to business life in the UK was recognised.

Next is Rugby League legend Kevin Sinfield. Kevin has raised more than £10million for Motor Neurone Disease following the diagnosis of his ex Leeds Rhino teammate Rob Burrow, running endless marathons. He has pretty much dedicated his life to fundraising and raising awareness of MND and if there is any justice he will be awarded a knighthood as well.

Harry Redknapp is not only one of the most successful English football managers of his generation; he is also one of the most popular in the country. Anyone who has spent any time at all with Harry knows that he cannot walk five steps without someone stopping him for a chat, an autograph or a selfie such is his appeal, and he makes time for everyone. He also quietly does a huge amount for charity.

Debbie Moore, founder and owner of Pineapple Dance Studios, is a pioneer. The first woman to float her company on the UK stock exchange in the 1980s and still runs Pineapple today with the same passion. She has achieved everything whilst caring for her disabled daughter, and at Pineapple she has done an enormous amount to make dance accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities. She was awarded an OBE back in 2010, but really, she deserves to be made the Dame of dance.

Lucinda Ellery is one of the most eminent hair loss experts in the world. The support she has provided to women suffering from cancer, burns, scars and Alopecia has attracted plaudits from across the globe. With studios across the UK and in the US, Lucinda too should be recognised.

And finally, it’s high time Peter Chapman and Richard Raymond were recognised for their ingenious Christmas tree collection scheme which has raised more than £2million for their local East Cheshire hospice and have also helped 180 hospices across the country to raise funds too. To those who are in the Honours List I extend my congratulations, but these would all feature if I was drawing up the list.

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For a Christmas treat I took my eight-year-old goddaughter to see Wicked. As much as I was looking forward to spending time with Anna, I wasn’t looking forward to her choice of film. How wrong I was. It was an eye-popping, action-packed extravaganza and in true Ariana Grande style I’ve been singing from the rooftops how wonderful it was ever since.

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The top of the ‘to do’ list for the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally should be to scrap the ludicrous £100million reparation payments agreed in response to the discovery of the Church of England’s historic links with the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries.

The money the church holds was given to them to support parishes and priests, not to bankroll left-wing ideological vanity projects and virtue signalling. The Church should spend its money on their own churches, many of which are in need of significant repairs, and concentrate on helping the poor and needy in our own communities.

Let’s hope the new Archbishop of Canterbury can bring some much needed common sense to the Church of England.

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What will it take for Rachel from Accounts to acknowledge that her policies are running the economy into the ground?

Only last week, data showed that Boxing Day sales slumped compared with last year as shoppers have less disposable income due to Reeves’ tax hikes. We also had the UK’s ninth richest man – John Fredriksen joining the exodus of people leaving the country saying “Britain has gone to hell”. We can all see it, why can’t she?

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Are you making a New Year’s resolution? If so you are apparently in a minority. I don’t tend to make specific resolutions as such, although I’m not averse to making a few for my husband Phil such as exercise more and eat less unhealthy food – but if history is anything to go by they are doomed to fail in the finest tradition of New Year resolutions!