I’m calling on Keir Starmer to do one of his famous U-turns.
Next week, Parliament will vote on whether Britain should get children off social media. Until now Starmer has opposed this, but this is yet another example of him getting things wrong. And he now has the chance to put it right.
Over months, my team has been doing the hard work getting to the bottom of what’s going on with children and social media.
British children spend almost three hours a day online, with 70 per cent of them seeing videos of real-life violence.
It’s become increasingly clear that violence, pornography and extremist content is leading to deteriorating mental health, poor sleep and isolation – with knock-on effects for learning and behaviour.
That’s why last week, the Conservative Party became the first political party in Britain to back a ban.
I made this decision because I understand, as a parent myself, that if we want a stronger Britain, we need to help parents raise healthy, happy children who go on to make good decisions about their lives.
This addictive technology is harming children’s attention spans and sapping their confidence at an age when their brains are not fully developed, with disastrous consequences.
‘I’m calling on Keir Starmer to do one of his famous U-turns’. Last week, the Conservative Partybecame the first political party in Britain to back a ban on social media for under-16s
Until now Starmer has opposed getting children off social media, but this is yet another example of him getting things wrong
5,000 people a day are signing on to out-of-work benefits, most of whom are young people citing mental health concerns. Instead of signing up to a lifetime on benefits, we need the next generation building the businesses of the future.
Britain cannot treat parenting or childhood as an afterthought. We already have age limits for alcohol or smoking, and it is common sense to protect children from things their brains aren’t ready for.
Since I announced our policy, there has been an outpouring of support across politics and the wider public. Almost 200,000 people have contacted their local MP. And yet, we still don’t seem to have heard anything from the Government.
The challenges that social media is causing for young people can’t be news to the Government. But still Starmer hasn’t got a thing to say. This is Keir Starmer all over. He has no idea what he believes, he hasn’t done the thinking, and he’s never got plan.
It’s why this Labour government ends up blowing around in the wind like a plastic bag. Instead of acting with purpose, they dither and delay and make stupid decisions, until the weight of public opinion finally forces our invertebrate Prime Minster to move.
Every week there seems to be a new U-turn. We’ve had Winter Fuel, the grooming gangs inquiry, the Family Farm Tax, and so many more.
Labour MPs are slamming his political ineptitude and telling journalists there is no way they will accept inaction on this vital issue. My message to Labour politicians this week is to speak up. Take a stand. Starmer will fold.
Britain cannot afford a government without a plan, and right now the Conservatives are the only party coming up with the serious ideas to get Britain working again.
Don’t listen to the doomsters. Britain can and will be fixed. But it’s going to take a strong team with a backbone making some tough choices to get us there. That’s the team I’m building, and the plan we’re coming up with.
