Donald Trump’s macho populism is catching on. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has caught it bad. His mission for the economy is to grow, baby, grow. His abuse of his perceived enemies is relentless. He doles out not so much policies as Labour passion projects: Heathrow expansion, onshore wind turbines and Ed Miliband’s pylons plan. As for consequences, they are for wimps.
Hardly had Trump ended his inaugural rant than Starmer launched another assault on his pet hates, “nimbys” and “blockers”. They join a burgeoning parade of his selected victims such as farmers, private schools, planning committees and any defender of the green belt or countryside. But with these latest scapegoats, he seems to be assembling a gallery of people to blame if growth fails to happen.
