KEIR Starmer’s promise to quit as Labour leader if he’s fined by police for breaking Covid laws by having a late night curry and beer has, for now at least, put his chances of becoming our next prime minister in the hands of officers rather than the electorate.
Some have questioned whether that was a sensible thing to do and it’s certainly a high stakes gamble that Sir Keir, who’s insisted all along that he did nothing illegal, will be hoping he doesn’t lose.
But the suggestion from some frankly desperate Tory attack dogs, led by minister Chris Philp, that Sir Keir’s brave, and commendably honourable, pledge was just a cynical attempt to pressure police into letting him off is a nonsense which demeans those who make it.
Mr Philp, a former justice minister who should know better, claimed on Twitter that it was “deeply inappropriate that the Labour leader appears to be attempting to pressure the police into clearing him”. He needs to get real.
To begin with, it was obvious from the moment that Durham Constabulary announced that they were looking again at the “Beergate” allegations after receiving new information about what happened on 30 April last year, that Sir Keir was going to be asked every time he encountered reporters what he would do if he was fined.
In theory, he could have refused to answer the question, but that would have looked awful and made Sir Keir appear shifty and evasive, particularly since he’s been demanding the resignation of Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak over their partygate Covid fines.
The reaction to the Labour leader pulling out of an event yesterday, which led to charges that he was “ducking scrutiny”, gave a taste of what would have followed if he hadn’t made clear what he will do.
So too did the Tory onslaught against him over the weekend when Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab accused him of “complete hypocrisy” and “rank double standards that drive people crazy”.
The fact that instead, Sir Keir is showing some principle by promising to resign is doubtless galling to his political opponents because it neuters attacks such as those and deprives them of the chance to inflict some easy hits over the coming weeks.
Most importantly, though, as Sir Keir said himself, it was “the right thing” to do. We might have a Prime Minister who thinks that becoming the first person to break the law while holding that great office isn’t a resigning issue, even though the offence was compounded by the fact that that it was legislation that he and his government put on the statute book.
But that was no reason for Sir Keir, a former Director of Public Prosecutions who inevitably understands the significance of breaking the law, to stoop to the same level. He should be praised for giving a straight answer and keeping true to the standards of conduct that he’s demanded of others. The country could do with more of that in politics, not less.
Nor, as another former DPP, Lord Macdonald of River Glaven, pointed out, is there much substance to the claim that Sir Keir’s promise will pressure police. He said his experience was that forces operate with sometimes frustrating independence. The Met’s conduct of its “partygate” investigation — which has at times angered politicians on all sides — certainly bears out the claim.
For now, the outcome of the “beergate” probe remains uncertain, along with Sir Keir’s fate. But if he survives, he’ll deserve it if the decency and honour that he’s shown bring him credit with voters.
