When people talk about Keir Starmer being boring they don’t mean they want him to be sillier – just to say what he truly believes
In a parallel or future world – one in which all our national crises were still in train, but we had a government focused on solving problems rather than firefighting the consequences of its own incompetence and enriching itself – what would be different?
Would we be back on speaking terms with the EU, and trying to reverse some of the financial pain Brexit has caused? Would we reconsider freedom of movement to ease the labour shortage? Would we stop trying to send refugees to Rwanda and erase that awful stain on the national character? Would we at least recognise that a pay rise to bust inflation isn’t the first step to anarchy, and anything less is a pay cut? Would we recognise that going on strike is a powerful collective act, not a needless inconvenience caused by pests?
The Labour leader would prefer not to say. Although as it emerged at the weekend that Keir Starmer’s forthcoming speech on immigration will rule out freedom of movement, maybe it’s less depressing when he can’t decide. But it is all pretty depressing.
Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
