He might not say it publicly, but Sir Keir Starmer thinks power is coming his way

Published

2 years ago

October 11, 2023

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It was a speech Sir Keir Starmer said he’d waited four years to give. And after the glitter was dusted off, there is no doubt the Labour leader was still basking in the afterglow the morning after what one colleague described as the “speech of his life”.

I’ve interviewed the Labour leader a number of times, at low and high points of his leadership, and the Keir Starmer on show this week was more assured and confident than I had seen before.

He might not say it publicly, but this is a man who thinks power is coming his way. And that’s because, coming out of this conference, Sir Keir believes Labour has “earned the right to” a hearing from the country.

“I knew what I needed to do, I’ve been wanting to give this speech for four years… I knew this conference was going to be about national renewal, I knew this years ago, we got the opportunity to do it, and there was a buzz in the room.”

It might seem curious to you that the Labour leader needs to even care that much when his party is 18 points ahead in the polls, according to our Sky News poll tracker. But hoping that the Tories lose the next election because voters are still fed up with them is risky. What if Rishi Sunak gets it together before polling day?

Sir Keir doesn’t just want the Tories to lose, he wants Labour to win.

PM won’t call election ‘because he thinks he’ll lose’, says Starmer

Yes, his speech was light on policy, although in our interview on Wednesday, he did go further on NHS waiting lists than before as he committed to whittling them back by five million by the end of his first term should Labour win a general election (Gordon Brown got waiting lists to 2.3 million in the last year of the last Labour government and Sir Keir vowed to do the same should he take the keys to Number 10).

More pledges and policies will be rolled out in the coming months. For Sir Keir the prize here in Liverpool for Labour was to start a national conversation and be heard – and in that, he and his team believe they have succeeded in that.

And the reason it really matters to Labour is voter volatility. While the vast majority of voters want change, a huge chunk of them are still not convinced the change is Labour.

To even begin to convince them it is, Sir Keir first has to get their attention. And even after that, the challenge remains huge. Sir Keir requires an even bigger swing than the record 10.2 per cent Sir Tony Blair achieved in 1997 to win a majority. He needs to gain over 120 seats to win outright.

Ask any shadow cabinet member if Labour is going to win the general election, and they know the drill: we are confident but not complacent, we won’t take the voters for granted.

For it could be a bumpy ride. The Conservative Party will come at Sir Keir on policy issues – be that on his green energy plans and immigration – and his character.

The most tense moments in our interview were undoubtedly when I pressed him on whether he regretted backing Jeremy Corbyn to be prime minister, given the former Labour leader had described Hamas as “friends”.

These will be exactly the questions political opponents will pose running into a general election as they look to put doubts about the Labour leader in voters’ minds.

Labour sources tell me Sir Keir’s speech has had “unusual levels of cut through”, helped by the glitter bombing and his reaction to it – which I’m told focus groups say showed he had “character” and was a leader who was “composed and calm”.

“The backdrop to all of this is a lack of trust in all politicians,” explained one Labour figure. “Delivery is hard in opposition but they are aware of how much Keir has changed the party in a short space of time and that gives an increasingly strong reason to believe.”

Glitter gone, a leader taking nothing for granted. But his response to Rishi Sunak’s assertion to me last week that a general election is “not what the country wants” says it all.

“He’s completely wrong about that,” Sir Keir told me: “What he really meant was he’s not happy to go to the electorate because he thinks he’ll lose.” Which presumably means Sir Keir thinks he’ll win.

Politics

£100m border security boost – as govt vows ‘major crackdown’ on people smuggling gangs

Published

4 hours ago

August 4, 2025

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£100m border security boost - as govt vows 'major crackdown' on people smuggling gangs

The government has vowed to push for a “major new crackdown” on people smuggling gangs with a £100m cash boost for border security.

The investment will support the pilot of the new “one in, one out” returns agreement between the UK and France, and other efforts to crack down on small boat crossings.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said this new funding will “strengthen” the government’s “serious and comprehensive plan” to dismantle the business model of criminal gangs smuggling migrants across the Channel.

But the Conservatives have claimed the cash injection will make “no real difference”, with shadow home secretary Chris Philp branding the move a Labour “gimmick” and a “desperate grab for headlines”.

The funding will pay for up to 300 new National Crime Agency (NCA) officials, “state-of-the art” detection technology and new equipment to “smash the networks putting lives at risk in the Channel”, ministers say.

It will also allow the Border Security Command, the NCA, the police and other law enforcement agency partners to “strengthen investigations targeting smuggling kingpins and disrupt their operations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and beyond”.

The new investment comes as official figures show more than 25,000 people have arrived on small boats so far in 2025 – a record for this point in the year.

Ms Cooper said: “In the last 12 months, we have set the foundations for this new and much stronger law enforcement approach – establishing the new Border Security Command, strengthening the National Crime Agency and UK police operations, increasing Immigration Enforcement, introducing new counter terror style powers in our Border Security Bill, and establishing cooperation agreements with Europol and other countries.

“Now this additional funding will strengthen every aspect of our plan, and will turbo-charge the ability of our law enforcement agencies to track the gangs and bring them down, working with our partners overseas, and using state-of-the-art technology and equipment.

“Alongside our new agreements with France, this will help us drive forward our Plan for Change commitments to protect the UK’s border security and restore order to our immigration system.”

The £100m investment will also support new powers to be introduced when the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill becomes law, the Home Office said.

This includes the introduction of a UK-wide offence to criminalise the creation and publication of online material that promotes a breach of immigration law, such as the advertisement of small boat crossings on social media.

Research suggests about 80% of migrants arriving to the UK by small boat used internet platforms during their journey – including to contact agents linked to smuggling gangs.

While it is already illegal to assist illegal immigration, ministers hope the creation of a new offence will give police more powers and disrupt business models.

Mr Philp accused the Labour government of having “no serious plan, just excuses, while ruthless criminal gangs flood our borders with illegal immigrants”.

He said: “The British public deserves real action, not empty slogans and tinkering at the edges.”

Politics

More children from Gaza to be brought to UK for urgent medical treatment

Published

13 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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More children from Gaza to be brought to UK for urgent medical treatment

Efforts to bring Gazan children to the UK for urgent medical treatment are set to be accelerated under new government plans.

Under the scheme, reportedly set to be announced within weeks, more injured and sick children will be treated by specialists in the NHS “where that is the best option for their care”.

It has been suggested that up to 300 children could arrive in the UK from Gaza.

A parent or guardian will accompany each child, as well as siblings if necessary, and the Home Office will carry out biometric and security checks before travel, the Sunday Times has reported.

It is understood this will happen “in parallel” with an initiative by Project Pure Hope, a group set up to bring sick and injured Gazan children to the UK privately for treatment.

A government spokesperson said: “We are taking forward plans to evacuate more children from Gaza who require urgent medical care, including bringing them to the UK for specialist treatment where that is the best option for their care.”

More than 50,000 children are estimated to have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, according to Unicef.

So far, three children have arrived in the UK for medical treatment with the help of the charity Project Pure Hope.

Around 5,000 have been evacuated in total, with the majority going to Egypt and Gulf countries.

Sir Keir Starmer said last week that the UK was “urgently accelerating” efforts to bring children over for treatment.

The government has also pledged another £1m to help the World Health Organisation in Egypt provide medical support to evacuated Gazans.

The prime minister told the Mirror: “I know the British people are sickened by what is happening.

“The images of starvation and desperation in Gaza are utterly horrifying. We are urgently accelerating efforts to evacuate children from Gaza who need critical medical assistance – bringing more Palestinian children to the UK for specialist medical treatment.”

Around 100 MPs have signed a letter urging the government to fast track the scheme.

Labour MP Stella Creasy, who co-ordinated the letter, said: “The commitment we all share to help these children remains absolute and urgent – with every day, more are harmed or die, making the need to overcome any barriers to increasing the support we give them imperative.

“We stand ready to support whatever it takes to make this happen and ask for your urgent response.”

Meanwhile, Project Pure Hope has been campaigning for months to create a scheme which would allow for the evacuation of 30 to 50 children.

The charity has raised the money to bring the children and their families to the UK, and cover their medical costs, privately.

Politics

The token is dead, long live the token

Published

13 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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The token is dead, long live the token

Crypto tokens have failed retail investors through insider concentration and poor design. Regulation and tokenized real-world assets offer hope for revival.