The great and principled man of the people, Sir Keir Starmer, is to stand down as an MP. Despite repeatedly insisting that he would remain on the back benches, the former Prime Minister will give up his Holborn and St Pancras seat, triggering yet another by-election. Labour MPs, including the former party leader himself, spent ample time whinging that Rishi Sunak would abandon parliament after losing the general election.
Indeed in May 2024 condescending Keir cackled in the Commons: ‘At his mansion in Richmond, (Rishi) can enjoy a brand-new Labour Mayor of North Yorkshire. At his pad in Kensington, he can celebrate a historic third term for the Mayor of London. Now that he, too, can enjoy the benefits of this changed Labour party, is he really still in such a hurry to get back to California?’
Writing in the Camden New Journal, the former Prime Minister claimed it was time to ‘pass the baton to a successor’. Again, this was despite pledging as early ago as July 3: ‘I’m going to stay as an MP until the next election’.
Given the demographics of his constituency, there is every chance that successor could be a Green or a deranged Gaza-obsessed independent.
The deposed Labour leader declared that he now wants to spend more time on international affairs – as if Britain has not endured enough of his self-defeating human rights finger-wagging abroad. He also plans to devote himself to tackling violence against women and girls, which is interesting given that he cannot even define what they are. The former prime minister said:
I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world. I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.
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