Keir Starmer’s undiplomatic incident at PMQs

America loomed large at PMQs. The Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, blundered immediately. None of his advisers seem to know that Americans are highly sensitive to putdowns from snooty Brits. And Sir Keir – who is not just a posh Englishman but a Knight of the Bath as well – reinforced the stereotype by smearing the 70 million citizens who voted Republican. He called the Democratic victory ‘a new era of decency and compassion in the White House.’

In return for suggesting that half of America is indecent and uncaring, Sir Keir gained absolutely nothing. Keep him away from foreign affairs.

He also struggled to score against Boris. Sir Keir catalogued a shocking record of government errors – £7,000 paid in daily fees to consultants, and millions wasted on masks from a firm that delivered not a single useable item – and yet Boris said these contracts represented ‘the private sector’ at its triumphant best.