Politics

The worst thing about Gary Lineker’s intervention in the small boats discussion is not whether he broke BBC rules on impartiality. It’s not that he has, once again, used his privileged platform – one largely funded by us! – to spout dinner-party platitudes about the evil Tories. No, it was his political use and abuse of the crimes of history, his marshalling of the evils of Nazi Germany to score some political points against the Conservative government. It amazes me that people like Lineker cannot seem to see how immoral and even dangerous such tactics can be. The Match of the Day host turned tiresome virtue-signaller kicked off about Suella

Rishi Sunak started the year with a speech announcing his five priorities. That was quickly followed by Keir Starmer, who sought to outbid him with five missions of his own. The Labour aim was to show more ambition: whereas the Prime Minister just wanted to get the ‘economy growing’, Starmer promised the fastest growth in the G7. This tactic has not had much resonance outside Westminster: a poll for The Spectator found that voters struggled to identify whose pledge was whose. There was, however, one exception: Sunak’s promise to ‘stop small boats’. Both Sunak and his Home Secretary see the virtue of a migration fight with Labour It’s one of

Keir Starmer decided that attack was the best form of defence at Prime Minister’s Questions. He tackled Rishi Sunak’s flagship ‘stop the boats’ policy on the basis that it simply won’t work. The Labour leader started his attack by linking International Women’s Day with what he claimed was the government driving a ‘coach and horses’ through its own anti-slavery legislation, which in particular protects women. He said the government had introduced five immigration reforms, all of which had failed, adding: ‘The Home Secretary says the public are sick of tough talk and inadequate action. Does he agree with her assessment of this government’s record?’ It was clear the two men