An appearance before the liaison committee – the supergroup of select committee chairs – is usually something that strikes fear into any prime minister. Sleepless nights. Panic attacks. Boris Johnson was so phobic that he frequently binned his invitations to show up. Not that it did much good. He was only delaying the inevitable. The whining schoolboy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school. Theresa May was just gnomic. Short elliptical sentences, signifying nothing. A face bathed in misery.
Keir Starmer has been a refreshing change to all that. Not just accepting his lot. A necessary final 90-minute endurance act before he could pretty much knock off for Christmas. Instead, he actively sought an invitation. Sending out a reminder to the committee before it had even thought about a possible date. Pestering them to get their act together. He couldn’t wait a moment longer. Four-and-a-half years of being ignored as leader of the opposition had been more than enough. This was Keir Time.
