The precedent is uncanny, and the failure to learn from it downright mystifying. Keir Starmer is rushing gladly towards the catastrophe Boris Johnson inflicted on himself in 2020. Had he set out to stymie Labour’s chances of re-election, he couldn’t be doing it better.
In 2020, Johnson promised “a whole new planning system” for England, which, he claimed, would promote “economic growth”. He said he wanted to see 300,000 new homes built every year. He sought to “build, build, build”, but falsely claimed that his plans were thwarted by newts, which he used as shorthand for environmental protections. He would sweep these protections away.
