The saying goes that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So perhaps Keir Starmer hoped to ditch his nickname of Mr Boring earlier this week when he addressed the issue of work-life balance.<br><br>"[In] politics, some people think if you fill your diary 24/7 and don't do anything else, that makes you a much better decision maker. I don't agree with that. I think you've got to make space," he <a href="https://www.perspectivemedia.com/starmer-my-children-take-me-away-from-pressure-of-the-job/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">said</mark></a>. <a href="said:"><br></a><br>His comments came after he stated that even if he became UK Prime Minister, he planned to maintain "protected time for the kids" – he has two – by not doing “a work-related thing after 6 p.m. pretty well come what may" each Friday night.
Understandably, in the week of a General Election, no comment from the man tipped to be our next Prime Minister will go unscrutinised. The Conservatives wasted no time before mocking Sir Starmer’s stance and warned of a part-time future PM.<br><br>The administrators of the Conservative’s <em>X</em> account ridiculed his comments not <a href="https://x.com/Conservatives/status/1807796490896621680"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">once</mark></a>, but <a href="https://x.com/Conservatives/status/1807831075940384956"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">twice</mark></a> within 24 hours, and CCHQ sent out a parody “Out Of Office” email to Conservative members the same day.<br><br>Why would you vote for slacker Starmer when workaholic Rishi Sunak promises to devote every moment to the role, the argument goes. Such a line of reasoning is not, however, as convincing as the Conservative campaign team might like to think – particularly for Catholics.
Most voters will relate to Starmer’s desire for downtime. The British public are understanding folk; we are not slave drivers. <br><br>Man is not a machine, after all. And a slightly calmer Friday night with one’s family hardly screams part-time PM. Yes, the demands of the Prime Minister boggle the mind, but if anything, that serves as greater justification for ensuring a few hours each week for family time and rest.
Granted, the office of Prime Minister is no typical job. But Starmer would not be the first high ranking politician to insist on a break from the otherwise relentless grind.<br><br>David Cameron was renowned for social weekends at Chequers, and Boris Johnson is infamous for conflating parties with business meetings during his Covid lockdowns.
Former Cabinet Minister and member of Opus Dei Ruth Kelly set work-life boundaries in a slightly more dignified manner: seldom did Kelly work after 6 p.m. and she <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1061432/Analysis-Is-sainted-Ruth-Kelly-selfless-claims.html"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">refused</mark></a> to take the red box filled with ministerial paperwork home to her husband and four children.<br><br>If Protestants are known for their work ethic, maybe Catholics should be known for working smarter, not harder.
Of course, there are <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/going-to-the-polls/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">many issues that Catholics face this election time</mark></a>, and a politician’s attitude to work-life balance will likely fall short of the Top 10 issues of concern. But Catholic voters should view Starmer’s comments on Friday family time positively; we can all resonate with the need for rest from work, and to have a political leader espouse this stance seems no bad thing. <br><br><strong>RELATED: <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/uk-government-continues-to-put-working-women-before-non-working-women/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Women continue to be reduced to their economic output by Conservative government</mark></a></strong><br><br>The <a href="https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#CHAPTER%20SIX"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church</mark></a> states that “As God ‘rested on the seventh day from all the work which he had done’ (<em>Gen </em>2:2), so too men and women, created in his image, are to enjoy sufficient rest and free time that will allow them to tend to their family, cultural, social and religious life.”<br><br>It also asserts: “Public authorities have the duty to ensure that, for reasons of economic productivity, citizens are not denied time for rest and divine worship.”<br><br>Taking a break from work is part of human nature, and reflects that – as stated by the <a href="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2428.htm"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Catechism</mark></a> – “work is for man, not man for work.”
I am a long way from being a supporter of Keir Starmer. But as the inevitability of Britain’s <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/should-catholics-worry-about-having-an-atheist-prime-minister/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">first atheist Prime Minister</mark></a> looms ever larger, I’ll take whatever glimmer of hope I can – even a broken clock is right twice a day, after all.
If Keir Starmer intends to rest on a Friday night, good for him. Perhaps, in time, he’ll realise the importance of keeping Sunday special, too.<br><br><em>Photo: Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer holds a press huddle with parliamentary journalists during the campaign trail, Chesterfield, United Kingdom, 2 July 2024. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.)</em>
