KEIR STARMER: I want 10 years in No 10 and will fight my challengers.
Keir Starmer has said he wants a decade in Downing Street and will fight anyone who challenges him for the Labour leadership.
The prime minister described his government as a “10-year project of renewal”. Asked whether he would definitely lead his party into the next general election and serve a full second term, he said: “Yes, I will.”
Unfortunately for Britain, it’s these ten years that he has in mind: Starmer wants to revolutionise Labour by taking Britain back to the 1970s.
Ironically for a man attempting to find a new vision for the future, Sir Keir’s approach looks set to haul the nation back 50 years.
We’ve been here before when it comes to Europe. The UK formally joined the European Communities in 1973, after being rebuffed twice by Charles de Gaulle, the French president. A referendum was then held in 1975 to decide if Britain should continue to be a member, with the “Yes” campaign emerging victorious.
Sir Keir insisted that he wanted to take a “big leap forward” at this summer’s UK-EU summit, bringing Britain closer to the bloc “on trade, the economy, defence and security”.
Importantly, the Prime Minister did not rule out joining the single market or customs union, which Labour previously considered red lines.
He said he would “turn our back on the arguments of the past, not open old grievances, but look forward together to how we make this country stronger and fairer”.
He is not the only one who thinks this way.
Andrew Bailey has signalled his support for the idea of closer ties with the Continent, insisting last week: “We’re an open economy, we do need allies. I think seeking to rebuild trade relations with Europe is a sensible thing to do.”
Rachel Reeves has suggested she would be happy to copy and paste EU rules into UK law, effectively ceding sovereignty to Brussels.
Yet, despite this recent enthusiasm, there is no guarantee it would work in spurring growth. Entwining Britain’s economic fortunes with the Continent 50 years ago did not trigger an immediate economic boom.
What actually happened was that the UK fell into recession shortly after, during the 1973 oil crisis when Arab oil producers imposed an embargo on countries led by the United States over their support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War.
Or as Labour — and much of the American left — looks at the 1970s, “the good old days.”
Earlier: Scenes From The Labour Party Wipe Out.