Are there dangers in Labour claiming the credit?

After more extraordinary sessions for the British teams in the Olympic games and it was inevitable, I suppose, that a politician should pop up and claim that they did it.

So step forward minister, Andy Burnham, who’s been arguing on SkyNews that a lot of the success is down to the Labour government.

But it’s dangerous stuff trying to claim credit in this way. Firstly it appears to detract from the performances of the athletes in Beijing themselves and secondly it raises the question – where did the money come from that has made this happen?

For, no doubt, the Tories will be arguing that it was John Major’s pet project, the National Lottery, which has transformed the funding.

The best thing that ministers should do is shut up and hope that the general uplift in the public mood will boost Labour.

Mike Smithson