Keir Starmer must surely know that trying to out-Tory the Tories cannot work. Attempting to steal their clothes on everything from strikes, to Brexit, to immigration policy will not work – the Tories are the original brand and have now won four successive elections. It is thoroughly depressing to see this once-great party scrabbling round for ideas when people across the UK are crying out for better.
Recent polling suggests most people are pessimistic about the future direction of the UK and expect things to get worse. Labour’s tough talk on strikes helps no one – not least their chances of getting back into Government in the UK. Respecting the right of workers to withdraw their labour ought to be fundamental to a party whose roots are in that very movement, but Keir Starmer has refused to commit to getting rid of the Tories’ anti-trades union laws.
I was appalled to see Wes Streeting, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, attacking the British Medical Association and suggesting that he wouldn’t promise extra pay for nurses. His solution to the current backlog was to use the private sector – that comes at a significant cost, money which would be better spent bolstering the NHS.
