The Starmer mob moral panic

In the long history of British democracy, politicians have from time to time been heckled and abused by rowdy loons on their way to the House of Commons. It was Keir Starmer’s turn yesterday, again, as a gaggle of hooligans shouted unpleasant remarks at him. When these things happen, it’s seldom an edifying spectacle. But it is probably a price worth paying for having a parliament in the middle of London which MPs travel to in open streets – rather than shuttling in and out of some hyper-secure and dystopian administrative bubble.

What happened to Starmer yesterday is no worse than what anybody who has been with away fans to a football match in England will have experienced. But from the way the incident is being written up – and the way politicians are fulminating about it – you could be forgiven for thinking that something truly awful had happened.

In fact, it was just a minor crowd-control incident.