Starmer is breaking Leftist taboos in his deadly serious drive to win real power

Starmer is playing to a different, bigger, and more important audience that can give him an election victory

- James Kirkup

GUESS the politician. This prominent MP has: said the NHS employs too many foreign workers and should have more British staff; said children shouldn't be able to change their gender and get medical help without parents' consent; been accused of trying to "purge" people with Left-wing views from public life.

Perhaps you're thinking of a Tory Right-winger. In fact, the politician is Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader and, quite probably, Britain's next prime minister.

Because Starmer's public persona is unspectacular and a bit boring, it's easy to miss the fact that he is now very serious about winning and keeping power.

He has also accepted that some of the biggest obstacles to achieving that can be found in and around the Labour Party itself. Hence his willingness to say and do things that make some people on the Left unhappy.