Shirtsleeves Starmer plays his cards right in Essex
The Independent|May 17, 2024
No gimmicks, Keir Starmer kept on saying as he launched Labour's latest, er, gimmick: a reboot of Tony Blair's gimmicky 1997 pledge card.
JOE MURPHY
Shirtsleeves Starmer plays his cards right in Essex

Abso-blooming-lutely no gimmicks here! Which is why Starmer was standing tieless with his shirt sleeves rolled up, while all the men in his shadow cabinet were forced to wear smart suits and ties fastened up to their Adam's apple. 'Cuz he’s the boss, innee, giving a team talk in the dressing room to the junior management!

No gimmicks, but lots of very serious subliminal messaging. Like the way all the shadow ministers, even Rachel Reeves, had to follow an autocue (look how controlled and on-message they are!), whereas Starmer just had a few bullet points on his screen, filling in the speech from memory. ‘Cuz ‘es speaking from his heart, innit!

So here we all are, at a theatrical production hall in Purfleet for Starmer’s 16th relaunch, four days after Rishi Sunak’s seventh relaunch. How on earth will they keep this momentum up until an election day that is not likely to take place until somewhere around bonfire night? You knew Labour was getting serious when Angela Rayner trimmed her My Little Pony red tresses for a smart executive hairdo. The would-be DPM posed for a selfie with the neatly bobbed Reeves and the pair looked, for the first time, like members of the same tribe.

Denne historien er fra May 17, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra May 17, 2024-utgaven av The Independent.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE INDEPENDENTSe alt
Djokovic faces monumental task at the Australian Open
The Independent

Djokovic faces monumental task at the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic could play Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and may also have to face world No 2 Alexander Zverev and world No 1 Jannik Sinner if he is to win a 25th grand slam title in Melbourne.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 10, 2025
Potter's West Ham gamble is a make-or-break moment
The Independent

Potter's West Ham gamble is a make-or-break moment

Doubts remain over new Hammers man after Chelsea failure

time-read
3 mins  |
January 10, 2025
'Woody told us all week we would get Newcastle away!'
The Independent

'Woody told us all week we would get Newcastle away!'

After more than a century in the lower tiers, League Two side Bromley FC are finally in the spotlight with their FA Cup tie

time-read
4 mins  |
January 10, 2025
Ambitious Everton look for upgrade on the Dyche grind
The Independent

Ambitious Everton look for upgrade on the Dyche grind

Sean Dyche was never the manager Everton really wanted.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 10, 2025
Everton ease to FA Cup win as team reboot starts
The Independent

Everton ease to FA Cup win as team reboot starts

They are not used to cheering the men in the technical area.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 10, 2025
THE ART OF NOISE
The Independent

THE ART OF NOISE

Alt-popper Ethel Cain lashes listeners with sound on her experimental second LP, 'Perverts'. Helen Brown submits

time-read
2 mins  |
January 10, 2025
Kidman is utterly fearless in unabashedly sexy 'Babygirl'
The Independent

Kidman is utterly fearless in unabashedly sexy 'Babygirl'

Dutch writer-director Halina Reijn has made a BDSM film rife with fumbling uncertainty, and comedy-drama 'A Real Pain' manages to stay honest,

time-read
5 mins  |
January 10, 2025
The secret shame that saw Callas retreat into obscurity
The Independent

The secret shame that saw Callas retreat into obscurity

She was the opera diva with a tumultuous and tragic private life but something else would derail her career as one of the greatest singers of all time, as Meghan Lloyd Davies explains

time-read
5 mins  |
January 10, 2025
At home with Gen Zzzzz
The Independent

At home with Gen Zzzzz

Being boring has never been more in - but Kate Rossiensky wonders if the humblebore lifestyle is a deflection technique

time-read
6 mins  |
January 10, 2025
PLAYING DUMB
The Independent

PLAYING DUMB

As the thoroughly decent (and rather smart) Kasim is ejected from 'The Traitors', Helen Coffey asks whether intelligence has become a hindrance that should be concealed at all costs

time-read
5 mins  |
January 10, 2025