MAIL COMMENT: A golden triumph for British sport

Savour the moment. It just doesn’t get much better than this. After all, who could have expected such glittering prizes, when most of our sporting heroes – notably our footballers and cricketers – have for years specialised in playing the part of the gallant loser?

Flying the flag for Team GB: 'Rebecca Romero's astonishing cycling triumph after her silver medal for rowing last time'

But not this time. Two golds and a world record for Rebecca Adlington; Rebecca Romero’s astonishing cycling triumph after her silver medal for rowing last time; our coxless four showing ‘something primeval’ to overhaul the Australians; Ben Ainslie’s third consecutive Olympic championship; Team GB is developing a habit of winning.

And surely one reason is the extra funding pouring into sport at all levels, from new facilities at the grass-roots to full-time training for potential stars.

Of course money by itself can’t make champions. That takes raw talent to begin with, plus the guts and determination to take it as far as possible. Every member of our Olympic squad has made huge sacrifices to get there.

But would our cyclists, for example, wipe the floor with the opposition if they didn’t have the Lottery-funded velodrome in Manchester? Could golden girl Rebecca Adlington have destroyed the world’s best swimmers if she hadn’t been supported as a full-time athlete?

More rowing medals: The mens eight proudly pose with their silver medals

That is why we should continue to promote excellence with Lottery funding. It isn’t just a question of national prestige, though Olympic success certainly helps to cheer us up.

When the problems of youth crime, binge drinking and obesity are seeming so intractable, shouldn’t sport (and sporting role models) have a crucial social role to play?

One final thought. Success in Beijing doesn’t belong to one part of the country, but to all of us. This is Team GB, with athletes from every corner of this United Kingdom. We have shown we are capable of remarkable things when we stand together. Let’s not forget it.

Paying the piper

These are tough times for British companies, especially those employing only a few staff. Prices are rising. Consumer spending is down. Jobs are being lost. Banks are saying no. Some firms already find it hard to stay afloat.

Yet it seems the next Labour manifesto will propose piling even more pressure on them, by extending the scope of maternity leave.

Even small businesses will be saddled with the obligation to keep a new mother’s job open for a whole year, while she spends time with her baby.

In an ideal world, there might be something to be said for such a scheme.

The trouble is, this Government has already burdened businesses with a string of parental rights. And it can’t be unaware that smaller companies may go under if they face even more disruption.

So why is Labour embracing such a jobthreatening scheme? Sadly, it is under pressure. The party is bankrupt.

After the cash-for-peerages scandal, private donations have dried up. Only the unions are still stumping up. But they want major concessions in return.

So far, Ministers have tried to resist. They are holding out against demands for the legalisation of secondary picketing and higher taxes on the middle classes.

But their concession on maternity leave seems a worrying sign of weakness.

And the country may pay a heavy price if the unions are indeed beginning to pull the strings.