Steerpike was delighted to see the return of Cherie Blair to the spotlight this week. The leading barrister and better half of former PM Tony has joined a campaign to force the men-only Garrick club to admit women, signing a petition which calls on the establishment fixture to change its rules.
The Garrick boasts cabinet ministers, academics and mandarins among its members and has long-enjoyed a reputation as a favourite haunt of Supreme Court justices. Signing the petition, Cherie recalled watching her fellow trainee barrister and future husband Tony being admitted into the club in 1976, while she was shut outside, describing the lack of progress since as ‘outrageous.’ And the top QC has been doing her bit to tackle this lack of progress, primarily through her eponymous charity.
Humbly titled the ‘Cherie Blair Foundation for Women,’ the institute published its annual accounts this week. Its accompanying report praises ‘our tireless founder,’ gushing how ‘in 2020 we realised just how far-sighted the vision of our founder was’ and that the charity’s ‘capacity for impact has never seemed so limitless.’ Running classes on ‘thought leadership’ and ‘business bootcamp,’ the foundation saw its overall income jump by more than 10 per cent last year from £1.7 million to £2 million.
Alongside such philanthropy, Cherie and Tony have not been above making a fair bit of cash themselves – with Mr S last week revealing that the couple’s property firm recorded total assets of £3.58 million last year. And now Steerpike has found the perfect way for Cherie to spend her hard-earned cash at a private members’ club that aligns with her right-on thinking – Britain’s wokest club, the Conduit, which is to reopen its doors next month on September 13.
Membership is said to cost a cool £1,800 a year with a sign-up fee of £850 and aims to bring together ‘social entrepreneurs, creatives, business leaders, philanthropists and civil society.’ The club, which claims to be ‘a collaborative community of people committed to creating a just, prosperous and sustainable future,’ will reopen in London’s Covent Garden, having been forced to close its Mayfair location after reportedly struggling with unpaid debts.
Helping to stop the woke go broke? What better way for Cherie to spend her hard-earned millions.
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