Labour’s screw-ups reveal how the party will govern Britain

For a barristermpdj, Sir Keir Starmer is surprisingly slow on his feet. The Labour leader had an illustrious career at the Bar but can struggle under light interrogation. When Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to Hamas’s attack on October 7th, Sir Keir was asked a seemingly simple question during a radio interview: “A siege is appropriate? Cutting off power, cutting off water, Sir Keir?” Sir Keir replied: “I think Israel does have that right.”The trap was sprung. Clips of the former human-rights lawyer appearing to endorse what many regard as war crimes went viral in Labourland, where Israel and Palestine is a poisonous issue. Panicky aides clarified that Sir Keir had said that Israel had to stay within international law, but the damage was done. Dozens of councillors resigned; s were inundated with emails from pro-Palestinian members and voters. Threats of shadow-minister resignations unless Sir Keir endorsed a ceasefire followed; the Labour leader refused, largely to stop Britain becoming an outlier among its allies. He was stuck, kippered by a breakfast-show radio .