Would you let Rishi Sunak look after your dog?

Rishi Sunak gets back to work this week after some down-time on the sandy beaches of Santa Monica, California. There is a nightmarish in-tray waiting for him in Downing Street. And there was another polling blow over the weekend. A survey showed that more Brits would trust Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to look after their pets than they would the Prime Minister.

When asked which of the two men would be best at “feeding your pet when on holiday”, 36 per cent of respondents named Starmer and 23 per cent Sunak. Some 41 per cent said “don’t know”, according to Deltapoll.

This might prove to be political dynamite for Starmer in animal-loving Britain. His credentials as a champion of our four-legged friends were further bolstered over the weekend when it emerged that Starmer recently saved a pup from mortal peril.

While the Labour leader was on holiday in the Lake District last week, Chilli, a family friend’s dog, fell off a cliff during walkies. Starmer helped to find the black retriever spaniel cross, who was missing for several days.

Chilli sustained head injuries during the fall, but is expected to recover, according to the Daily Mirror.

Perhaps we will start seeing more of Nova, the Prime Minister’s fox red labrador, as he tries to show some puppy love. The Sunak family got the dog in 2021 and he appeared in a number of photo opportunities during the race for the Tory leadership.

King’s Head set go back to the future

It was last orders at the King’s Head theatre pub yesterday. After a gala performance celebrating the history of the venue, prominent actors associated with the theatre toasted its future in the ground-floor bar. Guests at the bash included actor and writer Mark Gatiss, Shakespearean thesp Dame Janet Suzman and actor-playwright-director Steven Berkoff. The Islington fixture is moving to a new purpose-built space after 53 years crammed into a pokey but much-loved 100-seat back room on Upper Street.

Sofi Berenger, senior producer at the King’s Head, said: “It’s bittersweet to be saying goodbye to the oldest pub theatre in the UK.” The new venue is due to open early next year.

Since it opened in 1970, the theatre pub has helped to launch the careers of stars including Hugh Grant and Victoria Wood. Joanna Lumley, Alan Rickman and Richard E. Grant have also walked its boards.