Londoner’s Diary
Rosie Duffield has been busy on social media since she quit Labour. The MP for Canterbury was quick to turn on her old party, which she announced her departure from in a letter published in The Sunday Times.
In response to one X user who asked whether Labour under Keir Starmer was “really no better than the Corbynites”, Duffield said: “they’re so so much worse”. Since leaving the party, Duffield has changed her X profile picture to a graphic of a bird flying from a cage, in the Suffragette colours of purple, green and white.
Duffield wrote in her resignation letter that Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a “lack of basic politics and political instincts” and cited the freebies row. While author JK Rowling praised the move, political commentator Stella Tsantekidou wrote on X: “God give me the confidence of a backbench MP with no allies to accuse the first Labour Prime Minister in 15 years of not being good at politics”.
“God give me the confidence of an ex-Labour MP's staffer who now spends all her time commenting on GB News,” Duffield hit back.
Superstition ain’t the way
Jenrick has hats saying “we want Bobby J” pic.twitter.com/PhtHbhb78i
— Calgie (@christiancalgie) September 30, 2024
Robert Jenrick has taken a leaf out of the history books with his merch offering at the Conservative party conference. The Tory leadership hopeful is dishing out hats emblazoned with the words “We want Bobby J”, a riff on Robert F. Kennedy’s “We want Bobby K” pin badges from his 1968 presidential campaign. As far as omens go, it’s a questionable choice from team Jenrick: Kennedy’s campaign was cut short by his assassination in June that year.
Style DNA returns
Fashion designer Amanda Wakeley celebrated the sixth season of her podcast Style DNA with a glitzy launch at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Mayfair. Wakeley has interviewed everyone from Prue Leith to Elle Macpherson about their approach to fashion, but says this season will be “an evolution and a real cross section of guests”. Designer Karen Millen, skincare guru Liz Earle and interiors expert Kelly Hoppen were among guests at the launch.
