Summary
All eyes on the news have witnessed the Labour climb and the Conservative slip. Polls show 24% of adults predict a large Labour majority. POLITICO data shows that 65% of adults disapprove of Sunak. Short of a miracle, we will have a Starmer-led government.
How will that look?
All eyes on the news have witnessed the Labour climb and the Conservative slip. Polls show 24% of adults predict a large Labour majority. POLITICO data shows that 65% of adults disapprove of Sunak. Short of a miracle, we will have a Starmer-led government.
How will that look?
Rwanda Bill scrapped
Conservative ‘stop the boats’ flag-waving and assertions that the Rwanda Bill will work have long been questioned, as Starmer accused the Tories of spending ‘£600 million on a gimmick.’
He may have a point. The Tories have suffered seven defeats in the House of Lords over the Bill, after weeks of ping-ponging, and losing speed each time it is rallied back. Recent research has shown that the bill has violated the government’s own transparency rules. Which explains why nobody can make head nor tail of it. Don’t panic though, our Brig Files guide will tell you everything you need to know.
Whenever the Rwanda Bill dies, Labour will keep it in the ground.
Migration tightening
However, don’t get sidetracked. Immigration will remain at the forefront of Starmer’s politics.
The official Labour line is reducing migration, according to their website. PMQ’s saw Starmer brag that he has ‘prosecuted more people smugglers than [Rishi Sunak] has had helicopter rides.’ Which is a lot, apparently.
Labour’s last party conference saw plans to ‘seek greater cooperation without European allies to stop the boats upstream.’ However, all was quiet regarding changes to the point-based system. Starmer has also talked about ending the reliance of UK businesses on ‘cheap foreign labour,’ to reduce legal migration as well.
“I think the way to grow the economy is to have a long-term plan, a strategic plan, dealing with planning, dealing with supply chains, making sure that the Government can ensure that private investment comes in,” he said.
Palestine
Starmer has lanced the deaths of UK aid workers in Gaza as ‘outrageous and unacceptable.’ This, and the election of George Galloway, could have set up the oppurtunity for a strong pro-Palestine position within the Labour party.
However, Starmer’s ongoing support for Israel, amid multiple frontbench resignations is causing a stir. He has voted against a ceasefire, and lost many councillors in predominantly Muslim communities. YouGov demonstrates that only 14% of Britons– and 22% of 2019 Labour voters – think that Labour is handling the issue well.
However, it hasn’t impacted their election prospects. YouGov polls shows that 46% of adults plan to vote Labour.
A facelift for the NHS?
Starmer has long planned to reform the NHS. Labour policies (do go look at their website, it’s riveting) outline plans to fund greater dentist recruitment, 8500 additional mental health staff, and up-to-date tech – CT and MRI scanners, and using AI in diagnoses.
That would be great, right?
However, has Starmer has been vague on where funding will come from. Tech money, certainly, will be raised by ‘closing tax loopholes.’ We already know Starmer wants private investment flowing in. Indeed, Starmer actually dropped his policy to end private sector involvement in the NHS, which disappointed (and angered) many Labour supporters. Promising reform is… interesting. A committed, and hopefully transparent, funding plan must surely follow?
Featured Image Credit: Niamh Brook
