For a PM who promised ‘change’, how much of what Sir Keir Starmer promised was rhetoric?
Sir Keir Starmer campaigned in the general election about being a politician who would do things differently and lead a government of service.
His was a message of change not just about how he would run the country, but also about how he would lead the government change. It was billed not just as a change of power from one party to another but as a change of culture too.
If the polls are anything to go by, that message has been blunted and his reputation tarnished in the early days of his government over the row around Sir Keir’s freebies. In the last parliament, Sir Keir claimed more freebies – £107,145 – than any other politician.
Politics latest: Tetchy PM hits back at donation questions
The handouts ranged from clothing (£16,200) to football freebies (more than £35,000), concert tickets, rugby matches and the races (£17,000).
He has also just declared £20,000 in accommodation during the election, borrowing a rich donor’s multi-million penthouse so his son could study for his GCSEs away from the media scrums around the Starmer’s family home in Kentish Town in London.
New polling put out by YouGov on Wednesday found that three out of four people thought donations of concert tickets and money for clothes to politicians should be banned.
Meanwhile, in the early days of the government, the PM’s personal popularity ratings have fallen sharply.
A fresh survey by Opinium reveals that the prime minister’s approval rating has dropped 45 points to -26 since he became the country’s leader. It now makes him – by a point – less popular than his predecessor Rishi Sunak.
There are undoubtedly a number of factors playing into Sir Keir’s drop in popularity – not least his decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance for pensioners.
But talk to colleagues around him, and the row over freebies has caused some consternation. At best, it has pulled the government off message and on to the back foot – at worst, it has become a personal problem for a prime minister who promised to do things differently, and now is having the charge levelled against him that he’s like those who went before, taking freebies from rich friends.
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PM defends £20k donation from Lord Alli
Sir Keir might find that uncomfortable, or vehemently disagree with it, but can he understand that while he is following all the rules, the perception, the optics of claiming all these freebies while asking people to take the pain of difficult choices is an issue for him and his government?
In our interview, it was evident that if the prime minister saw the tensions between his promises about how he would conduct politics and claiming sizeable freebies, he did not want to acknowledge that in an interview that was far tenser than I had anticipated and in which, at times, he seemed palpably angry.
The prime minister made the point that the claims were in the rules and that “behind some of those numbers, there is a human story”.
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He explained how he has to now sit in corporate hospitality when he watches his beloved Arsenal with his son because of security reasons and does not want to cost the taxpayer more money by sitting in his usual seat in the stands.
And when it comes to the £20,000 accommodation he claimed in the election, the prime minister has a very clear answer: he did it to protect his son, who was studying for his GCSEs at the time and needed a peaceful place to study where he did not have to run the gauntlet of journalists hanging outside the house.
Many of you will think these are reasonable explanations, some of you will not.
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Sir Keir is a regular at Arsenal home and away matches. Pic: Reuters
But what is incontrovertible is the volume of freebies Sir Keir has claimed.
When I asked him about clothing, he said he would no longer accept donations. When I asked him about concert tickets – Taylor Swift, Adele, Coldplay – he indicated he might still go, saying it was a matter of judgement.
In short, the prime minister point-blank refused to engage in questions around the optics of his claims and how they might undermine his political messaging and personal reputation with the public.
Does it matter? One of the charges brought against Sir Keir during the election by political opponents was he was a politician who said one thing and did another.
The Conservatives campaigned hard on the notion that he would say no tax rises for working people and then put up taxes – we will see what he does in the budget.
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And there were those on his own side who lost trust in him after he campaigned on a left-wing agenda to become leader only to move away from that once he had won.
Whether he likes it or not, thinks it’s fair or not, will admit it or not, the row over freebies has raised questions about how much of that “change” was rhetoric and how much is real?
Politics
Conservative Party pledges £1.6bn ICE-style ‘removals force’ to detain and deport illegal migrants
The Conservatives are pledging to create a new “removals force” to detain and remove 150,000 a year as part of a broad plan to tackle illegal immigration to the UK.
Modelled on the “successful approach” of the US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, this new force would be given “sweeping new powers”, and over £1bn in new funding.
The pledge is part of the Conservative Party’s broad new plans to stop illegal migration to the UK, set to be unveiled by Kemi Badenoch on the first day of their annual conference on Sunday, where reducing immigration and creating “Strong Borders” will be one of the key themes.
The new “Removals Force” that she will unveil will replace the existing Home Office Immigration Enforcement (IE) and will be given broad new powers, including being able to use facial recognition without warning in order to spot illegal immigrants.
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Sam and Anne discuss how comments made by their leader will be received by Conservatives ahead of their conference.
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It will be given funding of £1.6bn a year, up from the existing £820 million a year, to increase the number of removals annually from 34,000 to 150,000 – which would represent “at least 750,000 removals” across a five-year parliament.
The Tories say this increase in funding would come from the closure of asylum hotels and “tackling the wider costs of our out-of-control asylum system”.
However, ICE in the US has been heavily criticised by politicians and the public in recent months, with the agency accused of arresting both legal migrants and US citizens and targeting people based on their race.
Expanding the use of live facial recognition technology is also likely to attract criticism from within the Tory party itself, on the grounds of it being a threat to individual freedom and privacy.
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Sky News’ Mark Stone speaks to an undocumented migrant living in fear of detention and deportation in the US.
Tories to withdraw from multiple conventions
In addition to confirming plans to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), announced on Saturday, Ms Badenoch will also vow to fully repeal the Human Rights Act, and leave the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
This, the Tories say, would “end the legal blocks that allow illegal immigrants, and in some cases foreign criminals, to stay in the UK based on flimsy claims”.
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The clamour from the right for the UK to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights has been growing – would it make a difference?
A radical overhaul of the asylum system would see refugee status granted only to those threatened by a foreign government, and those fleeing conflict or “less tolerant” laws on religion or sexuality would not be eligible, with the party saying “few people will qualify”.
The plan will also see the immigration tribunal abolished, with all decisions on migration taken by the Home Office with only limited rights of appeal in cases where officials have acted without statutory authority.
Immigration cases will be denied legal aid, with the Tories accusing solicitors of having “defrauded” the UK by “coaching” applicants and arguing there is “no need for lawyers” as people “should simply tell the truth about their circumstances”.
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Prime minister rules out leaving ECHR
‘Labour is fixing the Tories’ mess’
The plans come as Ms Badenoch faces continued pressure on her right flank from Reform UK, which has already pledged to leave the ECHR and deport up to 600,000 people over five years if it comes to power.
But the party leader said the plans put forward by Nigel Farage’s party are “nothing but announcements that fall apart on arrivals”.
She also said the Labour government offers “failed gimmicks”, adding: “Our Stronger Borders plan is serious and credible and backed by a comprehensive legal analysis. That is the difference the next Conservative government will deliver.”
A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Conservatives’ message on immigration is: we got everything wrong, we won’t apologise, now trust us.
“It won’t wash – Kemi Badenoch’s party enabled record high net migration as removals plummeted, opened over 400 asylum hotels and wasted £700 million of taxpayers’ money to send just four volunteers to Rwanda.
“This Labour government is fixing the Tories’ mess by smashing the people-smuggling gangs running the vile small boats trade, closing asylum hotels, deporting foreign criminals and signing international returns deals to bring order to Britain’s borders.”
Hear more about the plans from shadow home secretary Chris Philp, live at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips from 8.30am.
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The Conservative Party will leave a key human rights treaty if it wins the election, its leader Kemi Badenoch has said.
Ms Badenoch announced the policy to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) ahead of the Conservative Party’s conference next week.
Despite many Tory MPs having expressed displeasure with the treaty, and the court that upholds treaty rights in recent years, it had not been party policy for the UK to exit it.
The move follows a review on the impact of the UK’s ECHR membership conducted by shadow attorney general Baron Wolfson.
Lord Wolfson’s nearly 200-page report said the ECHR had impacted government policy in numerous areas.
The report said this includes limiting government’s ability to address immigration issues, potentially hampering restrictions on climate change policy, and impacting government ability to prioritise British citizens for social housing and public services.
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But leaving the ECHR would “not be a panacea to all the issues that have arisen in recent years”, Lord Wolfson said.
It comes after the Reform Party in August said they would take the UK out of the ECHR if elected.
The Conservatives have increasingly come under threat from Reform and are being trailed in the polls by them.
What is the ECHR?
The ECHR was established in the 1950s, drafted in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust, to protect people from serious human rights violations, with Sir Winston Churchill as a driving force.
It’s 18 sections guarantee rights such as the right to life, the prohibition of torture, the right to a fair trial, the right to private and family life and the right to freedom of expression.
It has been used to halt the deportation of migrants in 13 out of 29 UK cases since 1980.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch. Pic: PA
A political issue
Leaving the ECHR would breach the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the peace settlement deal between the British and Irish governments on how Northern Ireland should be governed.
Labour has in recent days said it was considering how Article 3, the prohibition on torture, and Article 8,
the right to respect for private and family life, are interpreted. The sections have been used to halt deportation attempts.
The Liberal Democrats and Greens are in favour of the ECHR.
A general election is not expected until 2029.
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