In an interview with Beth Rigby of Sky News some three weeks before the General Election, in answer to an issue about his support for Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer said, ‘I backed Jeremy Corbyn in 2019 because I assumed he would lose.’
As context, it would little doubt be remembered that that is the person who, as soon as he became leader, rejected his predecessor’s far-left extremism and pledged to purge the party of anti-Semitism, as a part of which he then suspended Corbyn for anti-Semitic remarks, and subsequently refused to permit him back into the party.
‘So what?’ you may say; Starmer was just being a politician! But it is a man who, by his own admission, says whatever he thinks will best serve the moment. In other words, he says what best serves his own interests, which may only undermine his trustworthiness.
So, given Labour’s recent landslide victory, what can we now realistically expect from the brand new government? Starmer has been loud in his claims to have purged the party of anti-Semitism and has vowed never to let it seize the party again. Really? In the run-up to the election, the country saw an eruption of anger amongst Muslim voters over Labour’s apparent ‘failure’ to back Palestinians within the war in Gaza.
Traditionally, Labour has relied on the backing of Muslim and other minority groups, which together have made up around 10 per cent of their core vote. But this time, enraged at what they saw as a failure to support Palestinian interests, local Muslim communities fielded their very own pro-Gaza candidates – and it had an effect. The Labour vote was not only severely dented across the country in towns where 10 per cent of the population discover as Muslim, but Labour actually lost 4Â of what as much as then had been considered ‘secure’ seats.
A worrying development, nonetheless you have a look at it, and Starmer’s response has been swift. From maintaining Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas aggression, he began to call for an instantaneous and lasting ceasefire and is reportedly now considering recognition of Palestine as an independent state, even when the US and Israel don’t.
The shift in emphasis has been reinforced by several of the brand new Government’s ministerial appointments, resembling that of Shabana Mahmood as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. Ms Mahmood will not be only a latest MP, but in addition a vehement advocate for Palestine, committed to rebuilding relations with Muslim voters.
Starmer’s wife is after all Jewish, and it’s to be hoped he’ll proceed his stand against anti-Semitism inside Labour – but, counterpointed against this, the Prime Minister can be trying now to win back the Muslim vote, and it is probably not unreasonable to say: watch this space.
Other policies now emerging, and unrelated to Palestine, seem to point an identical equivocal approach. For example, Bridget Phillipson, the brand new Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, has made much of her commitment to recruit 6,500 latest teachers and put education back at the highest of the agenda. But she has also expressed support for transgender rights, and has refused to commit to implementation of the brand new guidance recommend by the last government, that might ban the scientifically inaccurate and damaging teaching of gender identity in schools. Previously, she is on record as saying that trans women with penises can use female-only spaces, and is a champion of trans rights.
This is an approach shared by Anneliese Dobbs, the newly appointed Minister of State for Women and Equalities, who will little doubt be working closely with Ms Phillipson to fulfil Labour’s pledge to ‘modernise, simplify, and reform the intrusive and outdated gender recognition law to a latest process’. Despite protests from Christian and girls’s groups, the 2 together have been given responsibility for overseeing implementation of a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy.
There are similar concerns in relation to Labour’s position on life issues. Starmer has already committed to supporting the legalisation of assisted ‘dying’, reasserting his promise to permit a free vote when the anticipated bill comes before Parliament. And, despite the very fact one in three women within the UK support a discount of the present cut-off date for abortion, it could seem that we will expect an identical approach to the legalisation of abortion as much as birth. Diana Johnson, who earlier this yr attempted to hijack the Criminal Justice Bill to introduce amendments that might have allowed abortion as much as birth and sex-selective abortion, has now been appointed Home Secretary, and can doubtless sooner or later use her position to recommend latest legislative proposals that may make killing the unborn an inalienable ‘human right’.
On top of all this, it now emerges that half the cupboard, including Sir Keir himself, are overtly atheist, selecting, together with 40 per cent of their colleagues, to make a secular affirmation moderately than take the religious oath, after they were sworn into the Commons. Of course, they’re entitled to do that. However, as headlined in The Times, we have now just elected essentially the most godless Parliament in our history.
But what of the economy and national defence? In their manifesto Labour pledged not to boost income tax or national insurance, however the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said that to satisfy its fiscal targets, the brand new government might be compelled either to chop spending or raise taxes. As a part of which, there are already rumours of tax being levied on state pensions, increases on Capital Gains tax, and the introduction of a ‘wealth’ tax. There are also plans to tax private schools, and it already looks as if many might be forced to shut. So, has the federal government been entirely honest, and what more should we expect?
There are also concerns over national defence. Military analysts warn that, globally, we face a situation where war could possibly be imminent – for which the UK is unprepared. To counter the threat, Starmer has launched a significant review into the military and has pledged to extend defence spending to 2.5 per cent. All of which is nice, but he has thus far failed to offer a date or timeline for implementation.
In the wake of the election, some have been talking enthusiastically a few latest start and a way of hope. But in the present cultural climate, such optimism appears misplaced. Our latest government is secularist and can pursue a far-left agenda which can, doubtless, bring challenges. Christians should prepare.
