On its own terms, this was one of Sir Keir Starmer’s most successful moments since becoming Labour leader in 2020.
Just in the nick of time, the prime minister delivered a speech that will steady his position in the party and arm Labour activists with new, clearer dividing lines with Reform UK. There’s nothing like finding and cauterising an enemy to get the crowd back on side.
He attacked “snake oil merchants” on the left and right – allowing some to question whether that is a category which includes Andy Burnham.
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And he worked out his principle policy attack on Reform UK: the plan to rip up the settled status of people who have lived in Britain for decades.
In a move that one senior Labour figure described as a “One Nation Labour” credo, he gave a more credible account of his credentials as a champion of working people than he has managed in the past by invoking his family.
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