Isabel Hardman
Already a subscriber? Log in
Reeves was clearly cashing in that work when she took part in the urgent question on the ministerial code in the Commons yesterday. But Labour isn’t likely to benefit from this story politically just yet. The local and devolved elections, as well as the Hartlepool by-election, are going to be a grim time for the party and Starmer’s team have been warning MPs and advisers that they’ll need to keep holding their nerve. Their calculation is that as long as Johnson is Prime Minister, sleaze will be a rich seam to mine – and one that eventually benefits the party electorally.
Other senior figures in the party are uncomfortable with this reactive strategy, though, arguing that Labour should be leading the debate on how the country will look after the pandemic. Frontbenchers are privately worried that Starmer is too easily batted around by rows on social media, and that these can lead him to take positions that in the short term seem popular but in the long term are problematic, such as the party’s decision to oppose legislation on protest, sentencing and policing. Both sides of this argument accept that the party needs to earn a right to be heard again, but disagree on how it can manage that.
Because you read about labour
Also by Isabel Hardman
Latest
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in