Keir Starmer’s constant U-turns are no way to govern a country
Keir Starmer’s initial refusal to allow US forces to use bases on UK territory is the latest sign of his tendency to flip-flop, says Brian Monteith
Is Keir Starmer happy with his name? Has he ever changed it? One has to wonder as it might be the only thing he hasn’t changed – but then it was not his decision in the first place.
He has been Prime Minister now for 20 months and has already made at least 16 significant policy reversals. Does anyone really know where he stands on an issue or what he believes in?
The latest came after his initial decision to tell President Donald Trump that the US would not be able to use its military bases on British sovereign territory in connection with the planned attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran. That meant the USAF bases in England such as RAF Fairford or the Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean were rendered useless. The UK’s security relationship with the US is now on a shoogly peg thanks to Starmer.
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The Prime Minister then made a fence-sitting address to the nation, but when his Cabinet members were asked if the UK was backing the US-Israeli intervention they were made to squirm when they evaded giving an answer. Meanwhile the US showed that, along with Israel, it could get by without UK assistance.
In response, China and Russia served up press releases condemning the Israeli-US attacks but offered no tangible support and left Iran hanging. It was a calculation that President Trump had no doubt worked out in the time he took to prepare for the bombings, drones and missiles he unleashed – or maybe he squared it off through back-channel discussions?
The Prime Minister stated “we were not involved” even though Iran keeps imprisoning British citizens travelling through the country and threatening British ships in the Gulf. And of course it has been shown to be behind social media campaigns sowing division in our country so that Scotland might secede.
It was only a matter of time before Starmer’s latest flip-flop would appear and by Monday Starmer was agreeing to UK bases being used and our own aircraft were in the air taking defensive postures.
As a young student between 1986-89, Starmer was a member of the “Editorial Collective” of a magazine called “Socialist Alternatives”. It was a loudhailer for revolutions worldwide at a time when there were two clear choices, the Soviet-driven socialist revolutionaries and the open society capitalist revolutionaries. Starmer chose the wrong side.
After the Cold War ended and the Iron Curtain fell, the young Starmer had to bend with the times. He abandoned revolutionary socialism and backed democratic socialism. The rest is his history and now ours too.
There’s much more that can be told about Starmer’s past that would probably surprise people but my point is this, having achieved the reins of power, we can now see what type of leader he is – and clearly his mission is to survive at all costs. He stands for very little and goes back on his word so easily.
Rather than make a principled stand that would show courage, rather than say ‘I’ll go this far and no further’ and call a general election to demonstrate he has a mandate from the people, Starmer repeatedly pulls back and does a reverse ferret.
It doesn’t matter if it is about personal appointments to his staff or Cabinet – which of course serves as a barometer of his personal judgement – he is apt to throw people the wolves rather than stand by them.
The Prime Minister is now on his third Chief of Staff after sacking first, Sue Gray, who had originally been with him when he was opposition leader. Then just last month Morgan McSweeney was sacked, despite being the man who plotted Starmer’s ascendancy to leadership of the Labour party.
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Now he has two women minding and advising him, Jill Cuthbertson and Vidhya Alakeson. Maybe it takes two to make sure someone is free to run a sanity check over what the Prime Minister is saying or doing? Then of course there’s the Peter Mandelson appointment against advice and eventual sacking.
Reverse ferret, flip-flop, U-turn – call Starmer’s reversals what you like, our allies never know where they stand when their backs are to the wall, the weakest in our society cannot rely upon his words of compassion (think winter heating, disabled benefit cuts) and his own backbenchers never know what’s coming next.
Repeatedly saying one thing and then doing another is the quickest way to lose the faith of your supporters, personal loyalties of your staff, and the understanding of your allies and colleagues. It is no wonder the Prime Minister’s popularity ratings are the worst ever recorded.
On Wednesday this week his Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Spring fiscal statement and will announce another policy switch, this time on student loan repayments.
She has already had to confirm another retreat on raising the youth minimum wage as it would contribute to even higher youth unemployment. Remember, the Prime Minister is the First Lord of The Treasury: what Reeves reverses Starmer owns too. How long before something else new that she announces – with his full approval – has to be turned on its head?
Having lost the Gorton by-election last week after making the wrong decision of not backing Andy Burnham as the candidate (he gambled on red and it came up Green), he is only being suffered in Downing Street so he can take the blame for the hammering Labour will receive in the May elections.
Is it now 17, 18 or 19 U-turns? We are losing count, it is inconsistency run riot and no way to govern a country.
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