Like many others, I listened to the prime minister’s speech yesterday as he fought for his political survival in the wake of Labour’s local election disaster (Metro, Tue). I did not listen with any great expectation and I was not disappointed. All we got from Sir Keir Starmer were the same old platitudes about how he ‘gets’ the public frustration and how he stands for ‘working people’ – whatever that expression means – and for a fairer and more equal society. Worthy objectives but without any ideas behind them. There was no mention of any of the real issues that affect working people on a daily basis – energy and food costs, law and order, shoplifting, high employment costs, illegal immigration, fading high streets, exorbitant student loans and so on – nor any constructive proposals to address these issues in a meaningful way. So what we got was a load of the usual waffle. Frankly it will make no difference who is prime minister if they just continue with the same policies from the past two years, which have contributed to a lot of our current economic problems and fail to confront the issues that really affect all of us in one way or another.
Reform UK voters: ungrateful or justified?
It seems to me that it doesn’t matter what Labour or Keir Starmer do, it’ll never be enough to tempt back those who have blindly voted for Reform. The announcement regarding the nationalisation of British Steel is commendable but after saving the Scunthorpe works from closure last year and saving thousands of jobs in the process, Lincolnshire voted for a Reform mayor. Talk about ungrateful. It is time for Labour to forget these voters and concentrate on the majority of the people of the UK – and that means going all out to decry the failure that is Brexit, to continuously point the finger of blame at Reform’s Nigel Farage and to get the UK back into the EU. Labour has three years to radically turn things around. The clock is ticking.
Immigration: the elephant in the room
Why, when our prime minister was making the speech to save himself, did he make no reference to immigration? Labour members going around canvassing during the local elections were told that, apart from the need to get rid of Starmer, the next topic was immigration – immigration and the cost of living are the chief problems in this country. Why then does he want to take us back into the heart of Europe? The democratic vote was for Brexit so he is aiming to make himself popular by doing the opposite.
Small beer speech fails to inspire
Starmer’s speech on Monday was pretty small beer. With the nation crying out for bold initiatives on the cost of living and indeed much else, he seemed to have little to offer. Labour will not survive and Reform will continue to triumph if people continue to struggle to put bread on the table and pay their rent. And that is not all. The success of the nationalists in Wales and Scotland poses serious questions about the future of the union. The current situation calls for bold, radical thinking that addresses the deep and concerning malaise from which our nation now suffers.
EU comments: final nail in the coffin?
After losing a large number of councils in Brexit areas, Starmer declares he wants to work more closely with the EU. Surely this is the final nail in his coffin.
Give Starmer a break
I think people should give Starmer a break. There’s more to being a prime minister than just home affairs. Over Iran, for example, he acted in a measured fashion that helped avoid a possible bombing conflict with Iran. I personally am grateful to him for that.
Northern Ireland: Reform UK or English nationalism?
Watching some unionists in Northern Ireland suddenly embrace Reform UK has been fascinating. Many of the same people once insisted that Boris Johnson would strengthen the union, only for Northern Ireland to end up with the Protocol – seeing Northern Ireland more aligned with the EU on single market rules than the rest of the UK – and creating barriers within our own country. That experience left many unionists deeply sceptical of Westminster politicians who claim to defend the union while failing to understand Northern Ireland’s unique position. From an Ulster perspective, Reform UK can sometimes appear less like a genuinely unionist movement and more like English nationalism wrapped in a Union Jack. There is a difference between supporting the UK and simply promoting English political interests – and unionists would be wise to remember that.
