When people talk about Keir Starmer being boring they don’t mean they want him to be sillier – just to say what he truly believes, writes Zoe Williams
When people talk about Keir Starmer being boring they don’t mean they want him to be sillier – just to say what he truly believesPhotograph: Danny Lawson/PAPhotograph: Danny Lawson/PAn a parallel or future world – one in which all our
national crises were still in train, but we had a government focused on solving problems rather than firefighting the consequences of its own incompetence and enriching itselfWould we be back on speaking terms with the EU, and trying to reverse some of the financial painhas caused? Would we reconsider freedom of movement to ease the labour shortage? Would we stop trying to send refugees to Rwanda and erase that awful stain on the national character? Would we at least recognise that a pay rise...
The Labour leader would prefer not to say. Although as it emerged at the weekend that Keir Starmer’s forthcoming speech on immigration will rule out freedom of movement, maybe it’s less depressing when he can’t decide. But it is all pretty depressing. Anyone who thinks they can explain the party’s general timidity on this issue by analysing this leader, with this team, in this context, has a very short memory. Labour has a rich history of rolling over, especially on issues of race, immigration and asylum. It was Tony Blair who barred asylum seekers from working and created a cycle of destitution that persists.
People often blame Labour’s focus-group culture for its failure to fully oppose xenophobia. The mainly unspoken assumption is that regular British people, from the “red wall” to, are fundamentally a bit racist – nothing wild, mind, just enough to frighten them off any politician who has any fundamental and unyielding anti-racist values.
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