London Diary: Keir Starmer in the doghouse

When first cousins marry, cultures clash

The growing demand for a ban on marriages between cousins—common among Muslims, especially Pakistani immigrants—has set the stage for a culture clash in the UK. Supporters of the ban argue that such marriages risk spreading genetic disorders. It is estimated that between 38 per cent and 59 per cent of British Pakistanis marry their first cousins. A bill to ban the practice, introduced in Parliament recently by the Conservative MP Richard Holden, is being opposed by some Muslim politicians.

An independent Muslim MP, Iqbal Mohamed, said the government should treat marriages between first cousins as a “health awareness issue” rather than legislate against them. He acknowledged that there were “documented health risks” to children from first-cousin marriages but “the way to redress this is not to empower the state” to implement a ban. He said the legislation would not be “effective or enforceable.”

“The matter needs to be approached as a health awareness issue and a cultural issue, where women are being forced against their will to undergo marriage,” Mohamed added. He argued that the practice was so common because ordinary people saw it as “something very positive, something that builds family bonds, and something that puts families on a more secure financial foothold.”

Muslims say that they should not be stigmatised and genetic testing should be offered to people, as it is in Middle Eastern states. Studies show that if a child is born from parents who are first cousins, the risk of a birth defect rises from three per cent to six per cent. Most Muslims, however, remain in denial and dismiss the proposed ban as Islamophobic.

Keir Starmer in the doghouse

Keir Starmer has been the prime minister for barely six months but most voters are already experiencing the buyer’s remorse. According to pundits, his is the worst start any British prime minister in recent memory has had, though that’s not exactly true. That dubious distinction goes to another Labour PM, Gordon Brown, whose three-year term (2007–2010) was saved only by his competent handling of the 2008 financial crisis. In the general election that followed, he led the Labour Party to a humiliating defeat. It took 14 years for Labour to stage a comeback, and that because people were fed up and favoured“anyone but the Tories”.

The Starmer government has failed miserably to capitalise on this. Pollsters reckon that if an election were to be held tomorrow, Labour would likely lose its majority, leading to a hung parliament. According to a YouGov poll for the Times, not even one in five adults approves of Starmer’sgovernment. Most voters see Labour as “incompetent”, “dishonest” and “unsuccessful”, with 46 per cent saying, “I expected them to do well but have been disappointed”.

Starmer has acknowledged that many in Britain find it “hard to think about the future”. In a New Year’s Day message, he promised a “year of rebuilding” to restore prosperity, repair public services and reverse his own sliding poll ratings. Meanwhile, a newspaper which claims to have read Starmer’s horoscope is more optimistic about his future. It advises him to “build up confidence simply by enjoying… life”.

‘One imagines,’ wrote the Times, ‘he’ll be getting more freebies from Lord Alli’, a Labour donor who made presents worth thousands of pounds to Starmer and his wife, including the expensive clothes they wore, as they moved into Downing Street.

British girls and binge-drinking

British teenage girls have been found to be leading the rest of Europe in hard drinking. Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that they are more likely to get “repeatedly drunk” than their peers from almost anywhere else in Europe. (Only Hungarian, Danish and Italian outdrink British girls.) More than a third of 15-year-old girls in Britain have been drunk at least twice, compared with less than a quarter of boys the same age.

Experts attribute this to alcohol companies “heavily targeting” young women with ads that “present alcohol consumption as a feminine practice”, and a sign of female empowerment. Another (misogynistic?) guess is that these girls are mirroring their mothers’ behaviour as British women are known to binge-drink more than those anywhere else in Europe. The study looked at drinking habits in 34 countries. When 15-year-olds were asked if they had been drunk at least twice, the average for boys and girls together in the UK was 29 per cent, compared with an EU average of 23 per cent.

And, finally, for all their professed love of monarchy, the majority of Britons don’t wish to put their money where their mouth is. A whopping 56 per cent have told pollsters that they are opposed to taxpayers’ money being used to pay for the proposed £369 million refurbishment of Buckingham Palace which is said to be falling apart and needs extensive repairs.