I Warn You Not To Be Young
This week teenagers will be getting their A-level and GCSE grades. God, I feel sorry for them. Being young in a pandemic has been like a giant teens prison. Stuck in bedrooms on zoom call revision classes, unable to knock about in unseemly gaggles.
Since I moved back to Worcestershire, I've been bumping into people I've not seen for 40 years. I'm even an unsolicited member of a Facebook group for a school reunion. The memories are flooding back: Riding around the mean streets of Kidderminster on a Raleigh Chopper. Underage drinking in long gone pubs. Getting the train to Birmingham to watch bands at the Odeon.
Then I think of this generation of future workers and worry about them: fewer rights, lower wages, more expensive homes, greater connectivity but more isolation. Thank God I'm 54, not 14.
And to all those teenagers in my life who are worrying about Thursday - good luck. Whatever your results, I promise you, you won't remember your results by the time you get to 54.
The House In Paperback - "It's Actually Good"
My first political thriller, The House, is available from good bookshops and online. It's finally out in paperback. Friends who have read it are generous. One of them said, "I was pleasantly surprised how good it actually was, Tom." Thanks, friends. Pick up your copy of the book.
Keep Music Live
Imagine being young and unable to see your favourite bands? It's bad enough for us old folk.
I'm very proud of the team at UK Music this week. After more than a year of concerted lobbying and campaigning, the Government announced the Live Events Reinsurance Scheme last week. This scheme is Treasury-backed and worth over £750 million for live events. The Government will act as a reinsurer, stepping in to cover costs incurred in the event of cancellation because of Government Covid restrictions. It will allow festival and tour organisers to invest with greater certainty and will hopefully get the industry back on its feet more quickly. That's great for live music lovers of all ages. Though the announcement was later than I'd hoped for, it's welcome news nonetheless.
Are you a member of UNITE the Union?
If so, please vote for Gerard Coyne. I won’t bore you to death with why he is the best candidate but if you subscribe to this newsletter you probably know that the scrum of scoundrels currently running the union needs replacing. Gerard is the one to make the change.
If you are a member and haven’t received a ballot paper (I know loads of people who haven’t), please call 0800 7833856 to arrange a new one. It won’t take long. Turnout is low which means your vote really will make a difference to the outcome.
If you can cope with watching me speak for four and a bit minutes, here is my first speech in the House of Lords. I hoped to describe Wyre Forest and big up Bewdley Civic Society, but debate time was cut. I’ll find another opportunity to do this in the new year.