UNITED KINGDOM: With Conservatives inflicting a historic byelection defeat on Labour, Keir Starmer conceded that his party had lost the trust of working people across England.
Transcontinental Times reporter Emily Wheeler delves into why she as a young Labour supporter, has lost faith in the Labour party with Keir Starmer as its leader.
Labour and Anti-Semitism
Sir Kier Starmer, 58, grew up in the small town of Oxted in Surrey, UK. He was the second born of four children, to parents who he stated were “labour through and through.” As a father now himself, he is raising his children to recognise their Jewish faith, as Starmer’s wife comes from a Jewish background.
When Starmer succeeded former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn in April 2020, there was speculation that some members of the party were anti-Semitic. This makes me believe Starmer’s entrance as the new leader was tactical. Was he chosen for his policies, or was it more tactical?
The Failure to Prosecute Jimmy Saville
Prior to becoming the Labour leader, Starmer was the Head Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). At the time of his leadership, Jimmy Saville went unprosecuted for his crimes.
Saville was an English TV presenter, DJ and radio personality. He hosted popular BBC shows such as ‘Jim’ll Fix It’ and ‘Top of the Pops’. However, in 2012, almost a year after his death, sexual abuse reports surfaced. Saville had sexually abused hundreds of people throughout his life, both male and female, ranging from pre-pubescent to adult.
Starmer was not the reviewing lawyer on the case, yet it still created media backlash.
An official investigation was commissioned later by Starmer, criticising both the police and prosecutors on the case.
The investigation report published January 2013 showed Starmer admitting there were “errors of judgement.” Labour cannot comment on individual cases, however, they insist that Starmer always put “victims at the heart of the judicial system.”
Even though he was not the reviewing lawyer on the case, this feels like gross negligence. As the head of CPS, he should not have let this slip. He had a public duty to protect victims, and this was a failure of victims from not only this case, but of those who have fallen victim to other unconvicted perpetrators.
A Labour Leader With No Leadership
As the current Labour leader, has Kier Starmer made any actual changes? He has spoken about his passion for unifying the party, yet this is the most divided the Labour Party has been. Starmer fails to criticise, to offer alternative courses of action and to propose any change to the UK Government.
He is a continued reminder that politicians will betray the trust and lie to the people who support them.
Starmer is simply playing politics; he has no clear message. He follows what the Conservatives say and makes no decent objections. Whilst making speeches, he lacks passion and emotion – he simply conveys himself as another cog in the governmental machine.
Moreover, he has completely let the Conservatives off the hook in the mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic. A year after the start of the pandemic, the UK has only begun to come out of its third lockdown. He should be launching an offical investigation into the failures; the lack of PPE and ventilators, the pathetic lockdowns and the struggle of the NHS, who were then only given a 1% pay rise. Why does Kier Starmer not call out the wrongdoings of Boris Johnson and the Conservative government?
Starmer’s Latest Blunder
Recently Starmer has apologised for visiting a Church in North London that has previously received backlash for homophobia.
The Church has been accused of carrying out “exorcisms” on gay people. Starmer made it clear he had only heard of these accusations after his visit on Good Friday. He said in a tweet:
“I completely disagree with Jesus’ House Beliefs on LGBT+ rights, which I was not aware of before my visit. I apologise for the hurt my visit cause and have taken down the video. It was a mistake and I admit that.”
The question isn’t about an apology, but about how he did not know this before his visit as simple research into this Church would have shown their history. This only reveals his inability to do simple procedural research.
Corbyn vs Starmer
Sir Keir is not a bad man – however he may just not be adequate to fill the position of Labour Leader.
Where Corbyn gave young people hope, showed an immense amount of passion and made us feel like we were heard. Starmer says he cares, but does not show it.
Actions speak louder than words, but Starmer is taking no action.
Comments are closed.