In his first speech of this election campaign, Keir Starmer made what is likely to become an extremely familiar claim. Focusing on the concerns of those who abandoned Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour for Boris Johnson’s Conservatives in 2019 he argued that voters could trust him with the economy as well as Britain’s borders and security ‘because I have changed this party permanently’.
As leader, Starmer has certainly sought to distance himself from the policies and personnel and even imagery of the Corbyn leadership. He talks about his patriotism, surrounds himself with Union Jacks, has rowed back from commitments to nationalise various industries and has become much more friendly with business while expunging the party of the taint of anti-Semitism.
It is only a bold or foolish leader who thinks they can impose their will on Labour
Some claim he also used unfair means to purge the party of Corbyn supporters and prevent them from becoming candidates, as has been the case with Faiza Shaheen and Lloyd Russell-Moyle this week. Starmer’s
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