Starmer uses PMQs to put distance between himself and Corbyn

In the last Prime Minister’s Questions before the summer recess, Keir Starmer put the most distance between himself and his predecessor to date. On the day the Labour party agreed to pay damages to seven former employees who sued the party in an anti-Semitism row, the Labour leader used his appearance opposite Johnson to make a statement that the party has changed since the days of Corbynism. 

When Starmer asked the Prime Minister whether Russia Today’s licence ought to be revoked in light of the ISC Russia report, Johnson suggested he was on tricky ground going on the attack over Russia Today given the number of times Jeremy Corbyn had appeared on it. To which Starmer replied that ‘the Labour party is under new management’ – pointing out no one from the front bench has appeared on Russia Today since he took over. Starmer also used his appearance to talk of his party’s commitment to national security. While that is a rather non-controversial commitment on the surface, it was one of Corbyn’s weak spots.

Taken on the same day the Labour leader has risked a clash with Corbyn over the decision to issue an unreserved apology in the High Court for ‘false and defamatory’ comments in relation to a BBC Panorama programme on anti-Semitism, it shows Starmer is growing in confidence that he can risk an internal war and win.