Mad for Brit?
IN ordinary times a Prime Minister one year into office and armed with a huge majority would use his party conference speech to set out a series of policies to improve the lives of voters.
There was none of that from Sir Keir Starmer yesterday.
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What we got instead was some awkward flag waving by Cabinet members and a long lecture about the danger posed by Nigel Farage and Reform.
The PM had begun this conference by claiming Reform’s immigration policy is “racist”, in the process appearing to smear millions of ordinary Brits worried about the woeful state of the nation’s border controls.
Yesterday, he tried to focus his attack on Farage personally, arguing he is a man who doesn’t like his own country and who takes political pleasure in calling it “broken”.
In one of the more memorable passages, Sir Keir pointed to the “swagger of Oasis” as proof that Britain still produces great things.
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He’s right about Noel and Liam.
But the jury is very much out on whether it was wise to spend the entire week lambasting Reform, rather than focussing on how Labour will put more money in people’s pockets or finally do something to stop the boats.
Indeed, Mr Farage was quickly on the offensive, calling it a desperate last throw of the dice by a flailing Prime Minister and accusing him of inciting violence against Reform officials.
This wasn’t a bad conference for Sir Keir. He at least put leadership rival Andy Burnham back in his box and drew a line of sorts under weeks of scandals and plotting.
But he has now made the next four years all about Nigel Farage.
Time will tell if it’s a masterplan — or a reason to look back in anger.
Bloated benefit
FOR Keir Starmer to have any hope of turning around the economy, Britain’s spiralling benefits bill must be curbed.
But there is clearly more work to do to change the deeply ingrained Labour mindset that all welfare claimants are victims.
New Work and Pensions minister Diana Johnson told party members that the department spent too much time “policing” claimants rather than giving them “support”.
If only!
Vast numbers of benefits claimants are paid without any meaningful checks or requirement to get a job.
In the fantasy world of left-wing MPs — whose rebellion led to the Government’s modest welfare changes being disastrously ditched — there is never a limit on what can be spent on the jobless.
Hard-working families and rich wealth creators will always fork out more taxes to pay for them.
The fact ministers in charge of reforming the system are echoing this nonsense shows the scale of the challenge.
