To Liverpool, where Sir Keir Starmer is enjoying his first Labour conference in government, against the backdrop of rather stormy weather and an even worse week of press. On Sunday night, the Prime Minister attended the Scottish Labour reception to welcome new MPs north of the border and ramp up support for his Caledonian lot ahead of the 2026 Holyrood elections, enthusiastically endorsing the Scottish leader as speculation about the fortunes of the party grows. A jubilant PM told the crowd:
We’ve got a Labour government with 37 Scottish Labour MPs who want and are willing to stand for election. Places like that in Scotland – they don’t fall from the sky.
Not under the SNP’s watch, anyway. Sir Keir went on, listing off his achievements to the party faithful, saying:
Look what we have already achieved in power. Look how busy we have been. I’ve been busy getting to know Larry the cat. We’ve bonded because we’ve both been chasing pests out of Downing Street for 14 long years.
Ho ho. It’s good to know the PM has his priorities in check…
And in a continuation of his war on fun, Starmer nodded to his rather dramatic conference speech last year – in which a political activist covered him in, er, sparkles – telling his crowd gravely:
It is now treason to throw glitter over the Prime Minister. And although you may have noticed, we’re a bit short on prison places, there are a couple in the Tower – but you don’t want to end up there…
It is of course a reference to the fact that, under the Labour lot, prisoners are being released early to free up spaces. If you don’t laugh about it, you’ll cry, eh?
Mr S did note that Starmer couldn’t quite manage to silence the room, with a number of delegates enjoying a hearty laugh during the Prime Minister’s speech. Even when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar intervened to tell the audience to quieten down it didn’t. How curious. After Sir Keir’s record low approval score, it’s hardly a confidence boost…
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