You can tell the trouble that Sir Keir Starmer is in by the desperation of Sun hacks in finding fresh curry puns. Whether it’s ‘backed into a korma’ or ‘bhaji smugglers,’ the Labour leader’s ongoing troubles over ‘Beergate’ has caused a run on puns over at London Bridge. The latest twist in the ongoing saga is the news that Sir Keir is discussing his possible resignation with shadow cabinet colleagues if Durham Police decide to fine him over the April 2021 gathering in which he and party workers enjoyed curries and beers.
The investigation is expected to take between six to eight weeks, with the force establishing a special six-man source to probe whether the Labour leader and his deputy Angela Rayner did indeed break lockdown rules. Close colleagues are reportedly urging Starmer to ‘wrest back the political initiative’ by stating that he believes receiving a fine for breaking coronavirus restrictions is a resigning offence for party leaders. This would enable him to keep calling for Boris Johnson’s resignation while he is under his own investigation.
Nervy Tories now fear that they have overplayed their hand. The dream for them would be Durham Police concluding that rules were probably broken but declining to give Starmer a retrospective prosecution. This would enable him to limp on, weakened until the next election. That is why Jacob Rees-Mogg last night was so reluctant to press the issue when he appeared on Andrew Neil’s Channel 4 show.
New YouGov polling shows that if Sir Keir gets a Beergate fine, Tory voters think he should stay on as leader, whereas Labour voters think he should go. The general public is of the view that Starmer should resign, with 46 per cent agreeing compared to 32 per cent opposing. They also think that Starmer either did definitely or probably break the rules (54 per cent) compared to did not or definitely did not (21 per cent).
Sir Keir hasn’t done any interviews since the issue reignited on Friday evening, aside from one curt doorstepped appearance on Sunday morning in which he was bundled into a cab. He cancelled a planned appearance at the Institute for Government this morning ahead of the Queen’s Speech tomorrow when he will be forced to grin for the cameras besides Boris Johnson in parliament. What a curry on…
Update: this afternoon Sir Keir has given a 4 p.m press conference in which he said that if he is fined by the police, ‘I would of course do the right thing and step down.’ He claimed that ‘This is a matter of honour and principe for me. We are not all the same, I am different’ and that ‘frankly I don’t believe those accusing me believe it themselves.’
Over to you, Durham Police!
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