Cathy Dobbs: Tories, I'm a Celeb and England Wags

On the subject of second homeowners, taxing those with a property in a holiday hotspots such as Devon, Norfolk and the Lake District is being done in a bid to increase the stock of affordable housing for locals. No one wants to see young people unable to settle in their home town. but will wealthy second homeowners really be selling the sort of properties that first-time buyers can afford? I understand how the Tories are keen to protect their red wall voters, but it’s now hard to see where Labour end and the Conservatives begin.

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A reader got in contact about a Tweet they had spotted regarding Matt Hancock, who’s in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. He’s been repeatedly chosen for Bushtucker Trials, which win food for the camp. Someone tweeted: “I think the irony of a Tory feeding all the socialists while they do nothing, has been lost on Boy George/Moyles/Sue/Charlene/Mike.”

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Talking of tweets, one of the best last week, was the quickly deleted one from Budweiser as news broke that beer was to be banned from World Cup stadiums just two days before the competition kicked off in Qatar. “Well this is awkward!”, it read. Budweiser, one of FIFA’s biggest sponsors, pays around £63 million for the privilege of exclusivity at major tournaments. So, I’d say “awkward” was a bit of an understatement.

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Anyway, it’s good to hear that our England football players are being made to feel at home in their five-star hotel in Qatar. The players were greeted with pictures of wives, girlfriends, children and even favourite pets. Well-paid football players and Wags often get flack, but it shows that they are just like the rest of us, and being away on a work trip leaves you just longing for home.

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Back on the subject of Twitter, and Elon Musk is becoming the new villain for the liberal left. Not only has he taken over their echo chamber but he’s expressed admiration for Margaret Thatcher and reinstated Trump’s Twitter account. Like in the UK, the left have changed to become the nasty party, hell-bent on pulling others down. He said: “In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division and hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican. Now, watch their dirty tricks campaign against me unfold...”

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Indigo Rumbelow is one of those eco-aristos that glues themselves to roads while Daddy drives around in a gas-guzzling Land Rover. I liked one of our reader’s suggestions that to find your Just Stop Oil activist name just take a colour and combine it with a once thriving high-street store. So you could have Magenta Dixons, Crimson Woolworths and Peach Athena – what an absolutely spiffing bunch!