Spurred on for Corbyn

ASKED AT a Norwood business breakfast how he could back a Corbynled party, Labour peer Lord Glasman offered a footballing analogy: “I still supported Spurs when they were managed by George Graham and I wasn’t happy about that either.”

Tory peer and Times columnist Lord Finkelstein also addressed the 175 guests at the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, recounting the time he hired an out-of-work actor to follow the then Prime Minister Tony Blair dressed as a chicken to critique his reluctance to debate with John Major on television.

“The problem was the more this young man saw of Blair, the more impressed he was. I ended up getting a phone call saying: ‘I think the chicken has defected.’”

Another fundraiser was a Young Norwood business event in Old Street, featuring a panel discussion with a group of entrepreneurs.

YN’s new, informal “loosened tie” approach attracted a turnout of 200. And, as with the business breakfast, a Norwood client spoke movingly about how the charity had helped transform their life.

Moderator Nick Hugh, CEO at Telegraph Media Group, told guests the event had taught him that “entrepreneurs don’t go to business school”.

The combined proceeds from the functions exceeded £100,000.