'It's almost nailed on that Labour will win next year - but there are concerns'

28 October 2023 , 19:11

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Keir Starmer (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

There are many things keeping me awake at the moment. Obviously the perilous situation in the Middle East is top of the list, but then there’s Bamford’s penalty miss against Stoke, Guinness at close to £7 and all the rest of it.

Everyone round here seems in a similar mood. It’s cold, everything’s expensive, nothing works. The question at the moment: Is a new government going to help? Yes, is the straightforward answer. It would be nice, if nothing else, to get this lot out of here. Worth hanging a sign outside Parliament: “X days since our last sex scandal.”

And if you hold them in contempt now – as every right-thinking character should – just wait until next week when Dominic Cummings appears at the Covid inquiry and has to get his text messages out. George Osborne says there are some WhatsApp messages – not necessarily Mr Cummings’ – that contain “astonishing” language and smatterings of misogyny. Tough week for the Tories, but aren’t they all?

Why then, are there worries developing over at Labour? It’s still as nailed on as these things can be that Mr Starmer walks into No 10 next year (maybe sooner, but I guess that’s wishful thinking). But there are concerns. The whole motif of the last couple of years has been Labour is a reformed party, all the hatchets buried, ready to govern. Thing is, they just can’t keep a lid on things.

Mr Starmer’s response to the crisis in Gaza has been clumsy, and sparked criticism that has now reached the front bench. There were genuine concerns about Mr Starmer’s unequivocal backing of the Israeli policy of turning off the water and electricity in Gaza. Despite a clarification, lots of people resigned over it, only to have their actions dismissed by a senior Labour source as “shaking off the fleas”.

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Terrible, stupid, callous thing to say. The most sensible response I saw was from an unnamed Labour MP who said: “What’s the decent Labour thing to do? How have we gone that far away from our Labour values of equality and justice?” ‘What’s the decent Labour thing to do?’ doesn’t get asked enough, by the way. But this is the problem.

What should be a united outfit is beset by this sort of infighting. It’s not so much dangerous in terms of the election – although alienating the Muslim vote is not a great idea – but it’s a terrible look. A party that should sprint home will limp over the line. No-one likes seeing people argue in public It’s basic, like when you’ve fallen out with a partner but have to go to the ‘do anyway. Get through the party, save the row for the taxi.

Keir Mudie