Sir Keir Starmer urgently needs to get a grip – thankfully he still has time on his hands
So much for the stability and drive for growth promised at the election
Time to get off the ropes, Keir
WHAT a wretched week for Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party.
It began with a frantic but failed bid to show the new Government has a plan to sort Britain’s benefits crisis.
It ended with the scandal-induced resignation of the useless Transport Secretary.
Inbetween came mixed messages and chaos on tax and net zero.
Doubtless No10 was delighted by Sunday newspaper headlines declaring a war on skivers. The problem?
When the detail actually came a few days later there was nothing of the sort.
Sir Keir is merely going to hold a consultation — at the end of which we might get a plan to force millions of people off the sofa and into a job, or we might not.
On the economy, the wealth-creating private sector is reeling from the £25billion National Insurance Budget tax raid, which will force up prices and hurt recruitment.
Bosses want certainty they won’t be hit again.
What they got was Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying there’ll be no more tax rises on Monday — only for Sir Keir to say the opposite at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
So much for the stability and drive for growth promised at the election.
Meanwhile, the business department was flailing around trying to mitigate the disastrous effects of the rush to net zero.
In a hurried announcement, ministers said they would reconsider fines for firms which don’t sell enough electric cars.
Sadly, it was too late for 1,100 workers at Vauxhall’s Luton factory — killed off by green zealotry.
Then, on Thursday night, we learned Louise Haigh — who led the outrage against Boris Johnson over Partygate — had herself got a secret criminal conviction for misleading police over a “stolen” mobile phone.
A panicking Sir Keir had no choice but to fire her yesterday. The bigger issue is why the PM — the man who said lawbreakers could not be lawmakers — gave her a job in the first place, since he knew of the conviction in 2020.
Nobody will miss the hapless, Left-wing Ms Haigh — whose major contribution to Government was stuffing gold in the mouths of striking train drivers.
Flailing
But Sir Keir does now urgently need to get a grip. His start in No10 has not been the best, to put it kindly. But he still has time on his side.
On NHS reform, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has made a solid start. Now he must turn words into action.
On ripping up planning rules to get Britain building, the PM and Chancellor can still succeed where the Nimby Tories failed.
Sir Keir could shake off the indecision of this week and force idling Brits who can work to do so — in the process helping to slash out-of-control immigration.
Over to you, Prime Minister. The country is watching.