I'd be up for a bop, Ange, if you get a country pad

How disappointing that Angela Rayner will not be the chatelaine of Dorneywood, the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire bolthole complete with croquet lawn, swimming pool and sunken lawn.

I had been imagining the festivities if she had been given the 21-room, 18th century, Grade II-listed house to play with, instead of the tenancy being awarded to the more sober-minded Rachel Reeves. Perhaps I am wrong, as I know neither woman, but my guess is that Ms Rayner may have had more fun and made the most of such an addition to her already controversial property history.

Being handed the keys to a grand official residence is more complicated than it appears, because unless you are hosting work-related events, personal guests have to be paid for. And country piles need to be filled up to avoid rattling around. 

Footing the bill for weekend guests is no small expense but party-loving Ms Rayner is known as an enthusiastic hostess and would no doubt have found a way round that.

I'd imagined her focusing on her favourite Venom cocktails and a barbecue rather than more traditional three-course Sunday lunches with a pricey red.

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When John Prescott was in Dorneywood, he got into trouble after being photographed by the MoS playing croquet on the lawn because it smacked of privilege. 

So perhaps Ms Rayner had planned a football kickabout as an acceptable pre-lunch activity. But it's always possible she might have surprised us and embraced a whole new country-house lifestyle, featuring tweed jackets and after-dinner games of charades. And, of course, there would have been dancing, maybe with a disco ball installed in the drawing room, and Ms Rayner herself on the decks.

The question is whether she would have been happy entertaining middle-class guests – as she seems to think it's mainly the working classes who enjoy a dance. What nonsense.

Ms Rayner may still get the Government's other grace-and- favour house, Chevening. If so, she should feel free to invite a broad guest list.

Ange, I'm here to tell you that we all like a good bop.

Status now is about wealth, not birth

On the issue of class, I've rarely heard anything as ludicrous as Kemi Badenoch's comment that although she was brought up middle class, she became working class when she worked at McDonald's aged 16. I had considered Ms Badenoch an intelligent woman, but this daft remark smacks of a desperation not to be seen as privileged in her bid for the Tory leadership.

The British obsession with class is well known.

Now, though, most public figures strive to demonstrate how they are not in any way upper class. Not even scraping into ­middle class. This is particularly ridiculous since the concept of class has become as defunct as the power of the aristocracy.

Look, for instance, at all those inherited titles about to be turfed out of the Lords. Status is now far more about wealth than birth, with the two increasingly less connected.

The generation born into families once regarded as working class but who've have made a ton of money can lay no claim to the working-class label.

David and Victoria Beckham, with their many homes and extravagant lifestyle, are an example.

I can't find a single aspect of my background that enables me to have anything other than middle-class credentials. I'm the daughter of a Canadian immigrant – but that probably doesn't give me many working-class points. Nor does my short time working for the now-defunct Army & Navy Stores in the 1980s.

Lady Vic – and a missed opportunity

It doesn't matter how many people say that Victoria Starmer should be able to buy her own clothes on her NHS salary (and don't even suggest that her husband should pay for them), dressing for occasions such as state dinners and White House trips is costly. 

A piece of Zara won't cut it. While she could perfectly well afford the odd Me+Em outfit (and it hasn't been confirmed that she didn't use her own money for the ones she has been pictured in) – it should be accepted that our First Couple are given a small clothing allowance, in the same way they have allowances for entertaining.

What they certainly shouldn't do, however, is take cash from political donors for their clothes.

As for Lady Starmer's appearance at London Fashion Week, the photo of her in an Edeline Lee polka dot outfit loaned to her by the brand would have been worth thousands in PR for London fashion. Our beleaguered fashion industry needs all the help it can get it – so I was delighted to see her sitting front row. What a pity that after all the furore, she is unlikely to do so again.

Ella joins a stellar cast of go-getters

When I heard Ella Woodward had sold her Deliciously Ella healthy food brand for millions to the Swiss Hero Group, I pondered – once again – why was I not blessed with the entrepreneurial gene.

The women I know who've made the most money have all launched their own wildly successful businesses: Charlotte Tilbury's beauty company, Natalie Massenet's Net-a-Porter, Chrissie Rucker's White Company. They all had extraordinary drive and very clear ideas of what they wanted to achieve.

Surely, some business education should be included in the national curriculum? Many young people can no longer expect employment for life, and have to find their way in endless start-ups. Learning early on how to read a balance sheet and assess risk would be a huge help.

Breast cancer's terrifying toll

On my recent holiday, we were among a group of four women in their 60s. Three of us, including myself, have been treated for breast cancer.

That's a very sobering statistic – and more evidence that, although Britain has a breast screening programme, so much more needs to be done in preventative research.