Mistaken identity

Enough words will be written elsewhere, so I’m not going to comment on the re-election of Donald Trump.

I am however thrilled to see so many broadcasters and pundits with egg on their smug, self-satisfied faces.

The fact that so many manage to earn a living from their uninformed, myopic view of the world beggars belief, but there’s clearly a market for those who live in a bubble, surrounded by like-minded ‘friends’, and continually preach to the converted.

Anyway, to lighten the mood, here’s a true (and unrelated) story.

When the Adam Smith Institute revealed the identity of their new patron last month, I congratulated ASI president Madsen Pirie with the words:

‘Just seen the announcement about Peter Mandelson - quite a coup!’

Except it wasn’t Lord Mandelson, the former New Labour spin doctor, who had become a patron of one of Britain’s leading free market think tanks.

It was Lord Mendelsohn, another Labour life peer who, following his peerage, became the party’s business and international trade spokesman in the House of Lords.

To be fair, he too has been described as a ‘key New Labour fixer’ so, in my defence, an easy mistake to make!