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Wanna Be Starmin Somethin’

When a new leader is elected, the party and public usually give them the space and platform to define themselves.

Keir Starmer, who took the helm at Labour just two weeks ago, has been afforded neither.‌

Not only are the headlines constantly dominated by coronavirus, his party’s never-ending war over factionalism and anti-Semitism has burst back onto the agenda. And the new leader has punted any reckoning over the internal splits into the future.

Or as one party insider put it: “In Keir’s mind, a fuck up happens when you do something but in politics fuck ups can also happen when you don’t do something.”

The leaked dossier – alleging senior staff undermined Jeremy Corbyn and made abusive comments about members – makes for grim reading.

Questions are swirling over general secretary Jennie Formby (who commissioned the report) and how the document, which cites private WhatsApp messages and names both staff and Jewish people who lodged complaints, found its way into the public domain.

The GMB and Unite unions are at loggerheads. People named are preparing legal claims.

Starmer told MPs just last week “we are one Labour Party”, but the truth is that his movement is more divided than ever.

Anti-Semitism broke through as a doorstep issue at the last general election and revelations about bullying and behind-the-scenes machinations seem to pile up week by week.‌

While he has issued a statement and committed to an internal investigation, many insiders fear the new leader is too detached and has failed to grasp the broader PR risk.

“We have become the nasty party and Keir has to change that,” said one member.‌

Starmer’s allies say his background leading the Crown Prosecution Service means he will be cautious and balanced.

It may be that the leader wants to face down the toxic elements of his party in a “Neil Kinnock moment” centre stage at a conference.

But, with the EHRC soon to report on its probe of Labour’s anti-Semitism, one thing is for certain and it’s that the issue of party discipline will continue to haunt him.

Quote Of The Day

“I won’t be booking a summer holiday at this point. Let’s put it that way.”

– Transport secretary Grant Shapps on whether the coronavirus lockdown will be eased in time for summer getaways.

Cheat Sheet

A new coronavirus vaccine taskforce has been announced by the government, following a warning the UK could end up with the highest death rate in Europe from the disease.

Doctors and nurses have been urged by the government to reuse pieces of personal protective equipment as the NHS faces “extreme shortages”.

Campaigners have threatened to take legal action against the government over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak in prisons. Two charities, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust, argue justice secretary Robert Buckland has been “too slow and too limited” in his efforts to reduce the risk to inmates and staff.

What I’m Reading

Andrew Cuomo, the charismatic, controlling, combative anti-Trump | Sophie McBain, New Statesman