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Keir Starmer is Getting a Taste of His Own Cop Medicine Moya Lothian-McLean: A political scandal over a bhuna and a bottle of beer. Perhaps it's fitting that something this tedious may prove to be the end of Keir Starmer's equally colourless leadership of the Labour party. 'Beergate', aka the question of whether Starmer broke lockdown laws in April 2021 by eating a succulent Indian meal, is rumbling on. Monday morning saw The Times splash that Starmer was considering a pledge to resign if he's fined over the incident in order to "retain the moral high ground" over his rival, Boris Johnson. Hours later, he did just that at an afternoon press conference, insisting "no rules were broken" but stating that if he was issued with a fixed penalty notice he would do the "right thing" and be on his way. Meanwhile, the Tories have been airily dismissing the row as "fluff" in the hope their benevolence will prevent Starmer from stepping down and putting ever more pressure on the prime minister to follow suit.  The thing is, they're right. The entire thing is grubby nonsense; imagine being a police officer announcing you've received "significant new information" and what you're referring to is intel on whether someone opened a Google Doc before or after eating a curry. But Starmer is being hoisted by his own petard; his tenure as Labour leader has been characterised by the petty, punitive politics he honed while serving as director of public prosecutions. During the height of 'partygate', Starmer's attacks on Johnson were predicated solely on whether he had, in fact, broken the law, rather than examining how the law itself was arbitrary, contradictory and harshly enforced. It was perfectly in-keeping with the "punisher-in-chief" depicted in Oliver Eagleton's new book The Starmer Project who oversaw the deportation of a Portuguese man for taking a single scoop of ice cream during the 2011 London riots.  CONTINUE READING ➡︎ Picks of the week... REPORT Abortion is a Crime in the UK by Sophie K Rosa With America's Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v Wade, Sophie K Rosa reports on the women facing trial for abortion – in the UK. Read more... ANALYSIS Ahead of June's Elections, a Revived French Left is Uniting by Ell Folan France's election was contested by two rightwingers. But a new coalition suggests a radical left is rising once more. Read more... READ MORE ON NOVARAMEDIA.COM ➡︎ Support independent journalism. We've got big plans for our written journalism, aiming to bring you even more analysis, opinion and reporting than we've been able to before. Setting up a regular monthly donation is the best way to help us sustain our work, grow our output, and expand our reach. Support us with a monthly donation, and you'll help bring even more people with us on a political journey over the next decade. We ask for the equivalent of one hour's wage a month, or anything you can. Alternatively, you can support us with a one-off donation. We know times are really tough, so any support you give does not go unnoticed. Thanks so much – we really couldn't do this without you. Copyright © 2022 Thousand Hands Ltd. All rights reserved. You can choose which emails you receive from Novara Media (including our newsletters 'The Cortado' and 'The Pick', updates on what we're working on and ways you can support our work). Manage your preferences here. Thousand Hands Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales #11245029. Its registered address is 96 Castle Lane West, Bournemouth, Dorset, BH9 3JU. Novara Media is a trading name of Thousand Hands Ltd and, as such, the individual shall have no personal liability arising out of such communication, and liability or obligation rests solely with Novara Media. Opinions or advice contained in this email are subject to the terms and conditions set out in the relevant terms of business and are not necessarily agreed or authorised by Thousand Hands Ltd. We have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that no viruses are transmitted from Novara Media to any third party. Novara Media accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage resulting directly or indirectly from the use of this email or the contents. Novara Media is regulated by IMPRESS, the independent press regulator.

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