Westminster or Davos? That was the question… [Chris.Urs-O Creative Commons 3.0]

• IN May 1940 Conservative MP Leo Amery implored MP Arthur Greenwood, standing in for his incapacitated leader Clement Attlee, “Speak for England, Arthur”.

That plea galvanised the House of Commons and led to Winston Churchill replacing Neville Chamberlain.

Good enough for Churchill, Attlee, Bevin, Lloyd George, both Pitts et al but a forum which Sir Keir Starmer has outgrown. Not big enough for him: Sir Keir prefers Davos to Westminster.

At Davos, “You actually engage with people”; you engage with people at Greggs which would be far more insightful for a politician of the “left” than hob-nobbing with the likes of German chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Sir Keir’s constituents who sent him to Westminster and the MPs and members of his party who voted him leader might feel deeply insulted. Does he not feel he can engage with them?

Should a member of the Conservative benches at a time of existential threat to the country call out, “Speak for England, Sir Keir”? It would probably require a text sent to neutral Switzerland.

STEPHEN SOUTHAM
Mildmay Grove North, N1