‘Labour must nail its colours to the mast’
It is always a good sign for a leader of the Opposition when they start getting a platform on the world stage.
Sir Keir Starmer has spent recent days in the Netherlands and Canada, meeting like-minded leaders including Justin Trudeau.
This week he will be hosted in Paris by Emmanuel Macron – significantly, not the leader of a centre-left party allied to Labour.
Global leaders would not be queuing up to meet Sir Keir if they did not take him seriously. They want to get the measure of the man they believe will be leading the UK by the end of next year.
It is a boost for his foreign policy, which is built around the idea that simply being more reasonable and easy to deal with than the Conservatives will open diplomatic doors for a Labour-led government.
But foreign policy does not win elections, and surely few voters will change their minds on politics solely on the basis that Sir Keir has built up a rapport with Mr Macron or Mr Trudeau.
More important for the next election by far is Labour’s domestic agenda – and here the party is treading a fine line.
Sir Keir is desperate to close off potential attacks from the Tories: he will not commit to any ambitious spending plans that could require major tax rises or more borrowing, or to an overhaul of the UK’s asylum regime which risks accusations that he is soft on migration.
Given Labour’s history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, that is understandable. But it leads to unedifying scenes: the party has flip‑flopped on its asylum policy, and refused to commit to its long-held support of HS2 rail.
The British public wants to know what Labour stands for. When they find out, some won’t like it.
That is a risk that Sir Keir will have to take at some point as he explains just what he wants to do with the power he is seeking.
