Keir Starmer used his press conference at the end of the European Political Community summit to further cement his narrative that the Tories have broken everything and that the situation is much worse than he had thought before entering government. This line is, Labour strategists believe, essential to the party having a chance of securing a second term, much as the Tories won the 2015 election with their campaigning in their first few months of governing in 2010. He accused the previous government of a ‘dereliction of duty’ on immigration, saying: ‘We’ve had a Home Office who has been dedicated to a gimmick that didn’t work.’
The argument about the Conservatives messing everything up is also essential for buying time while Starmer tries to get his head around how to stop the boats. He was challenged on this yesterday by Rishi Sunak, who said he needed to come up with an alternative to the Rwanda plan – the policy Starmer today described as a ‘gimmick’.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in