HOT news from New York is that New Zealand’s Labour prime minister Jacinda Ardern turned up at the United Nations assembly with her new must-have accessory – three-month-old daughter Neve Te Aroha.
New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern makes history with baby at UN assembly.
Ms Ardern’s partner Clarke Gayford, described as the baby’s ‘main caregiver’, is reported to have held Neve and ‘looked on proudly’ as his wife addressed the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit (no, we’re not making this up). Gayford is a TV fishing show host but has apparently put his trout-tickling on hold while he changes the First Infant’s nappies.
Samantha Power, former US Ambassador to the UN under Barack Obama, tweeted: ‘I cannot stress how much the @UN – and the governments that comprise it – need this.’ Quite how, she didn’t explain.
So were you watching, Mrs May? You have obviously missed a trick in the international statesmanship department. Just imagine what the reaction would have been had you waltzed into Salzburg with a nipper in swaddling clothes. The Barniers and the Junckers would have been putty in your hands, surrendering to all your demands over Brexit and indeed begging you to ask for more.
OK, it’s not so easy for a childless and rather busy 61-year-old to magic up an instant sprog. But there are alternatives. A tiny kitten with a pink ribbon would have had the Eurocrats simpering. Or what about one of those adorable labrador pups that help to sell so much Andrex bog-roll?
You can be sure that a certain Ms R Davidson will have noted the benefits of being a labour (small L) politician. Giving birth during a debate would be a guaranteed vote winner. Just a suggestion.