The Labour leader’s message to Boris Johnson was the closest thing to leadership the country has seen in months
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It was quite the moment. For months now, Boris Johnson’s only comeback to Keir Starmer at prime minister’s question has been that he didn’t have a policy of his own. Rather forgetting it was the government’s job to come up with the ideas and for the opposition to oppose. But in his first ever televised press conference since he was elected Labour leader, Starmer chose to put clear blue water between himself and Johnson by calling for a two- to three-week “circuit break” to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
This wasn’t Starmer in his natural habitat. He has still to master the art of looking relaxed in front of the TV cameras, but his 10-minute speech was delivered with the conviction of someone who knows he has the Sage scientists and most of the public on his side. It might have looked a little awkward, but it was the closest thing to true leadership the country has seen in months. Alongside Keir, Boris looks increasingly like a startled, desperate wrecking-ball.
