Jesus house

A lot of politicians go through phases with phrases – falling back on buzzwords and self-coined instant cliches when seeking to set out a thought to interviewers or people that they meet. Often this becomes the subject of private jokes between their spin doctors – with sneaky glances and wry smiles greeting the umpteenth rolling out of the latest favoured soundbite. Keir Starmer has a classic just now, a belter of a mixed metaphor to boot. He cannot wait, he tells people, ‘to take off the mask and open the throttle’. The saying has such an irresistible air of Accidental Partridge that I’d be surprised were it not to have

Keir Starmer obviously regrets visiting Jesus House last week because of the furore it has caused in his own party. But he will likely come to regret his reaction even more. The Labour leader posted a full apology for the Pentecostal church visit, saying: ‘I completely disagree with Jesus House’s beliefs on LGBT+ rights, which I was not aware of before my visit. I apologise for the hurt my visit caused and have taken down the video. It was a mistake and I accept that.’ The whole thing is, as Brendan O’Neill points out, rather awkward, given Starmer chose to visit this church during a key Christian festival and given

Monday will officially mark a ‘Year of Keir’ as Starmer celebrates the first anniversary of his election as Labour leader. It’s been 12 months of frequent clashes with the party’s once powerful left faction including the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey, the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn and the decision to abstain on the ‘spy cops’ bill. Moderates meanwhile grumble about Starmer’s decision to attack the government on competence rather than values – a decision that backfired once vaccines arrived in December. Surely then an Easter trip to a church offered Starmer a chance to have his party singing for once from the same hymn sheet? Alas not. It seems the Leader’s Office managed to choose the wrong church, judging