An estimated half a million people off work. The biggest day of strikes in decades. The country close to a standstill. You might have thought this would have been uppermost in people’s minds at prime minister’s questions. But not so much. Keir Starmer thought better of it. He wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to say. Labour’s current position has barely progressed from “I wouldn’t have started from there”. Rishi Sunak is even worse. He hasn’t yet worked out that he’s prime minister and could therefore end the strikes. Someone should have a word.
Instead, the Labour leader chose to focus on sleaze. Not a bad substitute. And a relatively easy win. First he started with Nadhim Zahawi. Rish! must have hoped he’d heard the last of the former Tory party chair whom he finally got round to sacking last Sunday. Sorry to bring him up again and all that, said Starmer. But in the interests of dotting the Is and crossing the Ts could we run through the timeline again? Just so everyone could be reassured that the government had acted with professionalism, integrity and accountability.
