"Decency vs Division" is this week's rallying call for Starmer, with a range of associated wok-ish sub-slogans. It's suggested by some that he, Reeves and Phillipson are running snide little side-campaigns against Andy Burnham and Lucy Powell: but who is the primary enemy in Starmer's sights?
The obvious, face-value answer is N. Farage: but I don't think so. IMHO, this whole Party Conference turn is aimed squarely at targets on the Left, in the two menacing shapes of Zack Polansky and the Corbyn / Sultana rabble. Starmer's first aim now must be to persuade what remains of the left-ish, green-ish sector of the Labour movement that he's sufficiently, demonstratively anti-Farage for them to reckon staying with Labour is the safest option, rather than futile fragmentation into the ranks of the splitters. A bit like the French are always doing to fend off Marine Le Pen.
Will any of his target audience be persuaded? It's not clear to me that many will, once the Conference euphoria is over. He'll be permitting new offshore drilling applications soon; those new runways displease a lot of folk; and it'll be quite hard to row back on his anti-small-boaters rhetoric. Etc Etc. OK, Reeves may shortly find a bit of (our) dosh for the two-child benefit cap thing, plus fuel discounts for a couple million more welfare recipients: but he still won't be delivering Gaza from its fate, or doing anything that would seriously piss off Trump.
We'll see.
Incidentally, what's the betting that initially, someone on the speechwriting team actually suggested "Diversity vs Division"? Before being slapped down, and probably shown the door ...
ND
No comments:
Post a Comment