Nick Tyrone Nick Tyrone

Labour’s abstentions show Keir Starmer at his worst

A vote will be held in the House of Commons today, which will decide the freedoms Britons will have from this week, possibly until spring. Yet the official opposition is planning to abstain.

There have also been rumours that if Boris Johnson does somehow get a Brexit deal with the EU this week, Labour will abstain on that vote as well.

Two of the biggest Commons votes of our era – one built around the greatest health crisis of our times and what that means for individual freedoms in this country, the other about our future trade relationship with our immediate neighbours – and Labour appear to have decided not to decide on either. This demonstrates the worst of Keir Starmer’s leadership.

Starmer has done a lot for Labour since taking charge. He has professionalised the leader’s office once again, and moved away from the student debating style of Jeremy Corbyn. He has dealt with the anti-Semitism crisis in the party astutely, unafraid of the feathers he has ruffled along the way. Yet he has also demonstrated a cautiousness in policy that has become increasingly stifling to Labour’s drive to rebuild in the post-Corbyn era. I understand why Starmer doesn’t want to commit himself to a raft of policies this early in the Parliament and why he wants to focus on the traditional business of opposition. But that shouldn’t mean Labour never taking a stand on anything whatsoever, especially when it comes to two of the biggest existential issues of our day.

In regard to today’s vote, it should have been relatively straightforward for the Labour leader’s office. If they think the tiers being proposed are necessary and do not want to look cavalier with public health, then vote with the government.

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