Starmer’s exit leaves UK in a weaker place

LOOKED at dispassionately, Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation is bad for Britain, bad for the Labour party, and since he was the prime minister who managed to sign the Free Trade Agreement with India, very, very bad for the British Indian community.

Whatever Andy Burnham’s qualities are, he will lack the authority to be prime minister unless he wins a general election.

And he won’t call an election, because of the fear he will lose to Reform leader Nigel Farage. It’s one thing to win a by-election, quite another winning a general election. Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory only two years ago, winning 411 seats and a 174-seat majority, but he was perhaps doomed from the moment he appointed Rachel Reeves as his chancellor. Though this may not seem important to most people, her first mistake was to put VAT on school fees. As a result, more than a100 schools have closed, a symptom of a wider malaise. And she was happy to drive entrepreneurs out of the country.

Rachel ReevesReuters

The irony is the Americans might have backed Starmer to remain in office – if only he had dragged Britain into president Donald Trump’s war with Iran. The only regime change that has happened is in London. Far from being toppled, the Islamic regime in Tehran has been strengthened by the US president.

A year ago, when Starmer spoke to Eastern Eye at Chequers after concluding the FTA with India, he said: “I think for British Indian businesses, for British Asian businesses, this is the most significant deal since we left the EU. It is the best terms of any deal anyone’s ever had with India.”

He added: “So it’s huge opportunity for businesses in the UK for dealing with and doing business with India. And I’m very much looking forward to taking this (further).”

Pressed on how he would stem the exodus of wealthy entrepreneurs who had decamped to Dubai and other friendlier tax regimes because of harsh fiscal rules on inheritance and non-dom status imposed by the chancellor, Starmer insisted: “We want to attract and retain wealthy individuals and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is important that whatever system we have in place for tax is up to date, modern and fit for purpose now and in the future – and we had an out of date system. But I want to be really clear, we want to attract that talent. We want to retain the talent and the wealth that we have got. And I think the more we can do with our business communities, the more we can do with deals like the deal that we’ve done today, the better the environment we create for people to know that the UK is the place to be.”

Andy BurnhamHouse of Commons

Will Burnham be able to persuade people to come off welfare and return to work? Will he be able to reduce the ever rising welfare bill under control? Will he be able to stop people coming across in boats? Will he increase the tax burden on those in work and on businesses under pressure from Labour’s left wing? Will he be able to revive the economy?

The truth is there are no easy answers to any of these questions.

As far as Britain’s economic future is concerned, Trump has proved to be an unreliable ally. Closer ties with Europe and with India are a safer bet. But, Britain has to get over this destructive mood when every prime minister is pulled down after two years. And a Reform government, under Farage, is not the answer.

Nigel FarageAgencies

Delivering less for more is a stamp of failure

A LEAFLET from Royal Mail dropped at home carries the ominous words: “2nd class mail is changing. To deliver a better allround service.”

On the other side we get the truth: “Your 2nd class letters and cards will be delivered every other weekday. While we’ll no longer deliver your 2nd class mail on Saturdays, we’ll aim to get it to you within three weekdays.”

A standard first class stamp costs £1.80. A standard second class stamp costs 91p.

These exorbitant prices are self-defeating. The higher the price and poorer the service, the fewer the number of stamps that will be sold. Royal Mail might revive a dying postal service if a stamp cost, say, 10p for guaranteed next day delivery.

A cheap postal service – like transport – is an essential service for any society. I fear Royal Mail is writing its own obituary.