Called Out For What It Is

What should the new towns be named, and why? Burnham? Not that I am an Andy Burnham supporter, but Steve Reed (Streatham and Croydon North) said the quiet part out loud when he dismissed Burnham as, unlike Keir Starmer (Holborn and St Pancras), "a regional politician". Despite being only one year younger than Starmer, Reed fancies himself as his successor, and is moving against the competition. He might at least be a gentleman about it and name a town after him.

The reaction to Burnham's mildly social democratic musings confirms the failure of Blue Labour. "Economically radical and socially conservative"? Only if the economic radicalism were the privatisation of the NHS. Maurice Glasman has declared in favour of digital ID, which is itself fundamental to that privatisation among many other atrocities. Shabana Mahmood is the Home Secretary. Jonathan Brash and Connor Naismith are on record in favour, while Dan Carden, Jonathan Hinder and David Smith have said it all by saying nothing. Mahmood has turned out to be George Galloway's successful former student with an inexplicable hatred that knew no limit. We all have one of those. And mine is also firmly on the right wing of the Labour Party.

Add to that the fact that at some point in the last Parliament, Blue Labour was hijacked by Morgan McSweeney. After all, what wasn't? I yield to none in my fear of digital ID in the hands of Robert Jenrick or Lee Anderson. But my fear is even greater that it would be in the hands of the people who were already in government. Assata Shakur's politics were hardly mine, but we must hope that she returned to the Faith in her final earthly moments, we must pray for her soul, and we must concede that she had the measure of those who "feel sorry for the so-called underprivileged just as long as they can maintain their own privileges". The problem was that it took her to say it. Where were we?

And where are we, that it has fallen to Starmer, of all people, to point out that the proposal to abolish indefinite leave to remain was "racist and immoral", racism being immoral by definition? No, Nigel Farage is not a racist. No, Reform UK is not a racist party. But this is a racist policy. If Farage, who less than a year ago was saying that Trumpian mass deportations would be impossible, and Reform, which was already ahead in the polls before this announcement, did not wish to be considered racist, then they would need to drop this and anyone who continued to adhere to it. If they did not, then shame on them. But that they have lost the moral high ground to Starmer, shame on us.