- War of words - 23rd May 2025
- Able bodied - 22nd May 2025
- NOT free and easy! - 21st May 2025
During 23 years with the BBC, and 41 years in journalism (when he was trained to use simple language, avoiding jargon), for our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, covering or analysing elections, as well as looking at the reactions of political leaders to major results have been pivotal, and this is now put centre stage by the seismic shock of Reform UK winning the Runcorn and Helsby by-election which Sir Keir Starmer said was merely “disappointing”.
His words are unlikely to send people to the barricades.
Sir Keir Starmer (the UK’s leader don’t forget) has declared that Labour’s by-election loss to Reform UK was “disappointing”, when it was actually an enormous political earthquake.
It was in one of the UK’s safest seats, and could be another sign that the victorious right-wing party may be about to supplant the Conservatives as the main opposition group (they have also taken control of Staffordshire County Council), rather as Labour did the Liberals in the 1920s, which would be a huge event.
Sir Keir seems to be aware of this possibility, although his words belie it.
Apart from calling the result “disappointing” he has also pledged to go “further and faster” on change, but presumably his critics may say this is the least he can do in the circumstances.
Just to remind you of how big this was, Reform UK won the contest by just six votes – one of the closest parliamentary elections ever.
In the past Sir Keir’s words have hardly been revolutionary either.
He said that Donald Trump’s tariffs will “clearly” have an economic impact, and that “just as with defence and security” the world was “entering a new era” in economy and trade.
“I want to be crystal clear”, Sir Keir declared tediously, “…we are prepared. Indeed, one of the great strengths of this nation is our ability to keep a cool head“.
MPs might have been excused snoring as he told them: “My instinct is we shouldn’t jump in with both feet to retaliate”.
The UK has spent weeks working on a trade deal with the USA to avoid the full impact of the level of tariffs introduced on countries such as Canada, and it was clear that Sir Keir didn’t want to undo all this work.
Even when Sir Keir did attempt to talk tough demanding a ‘reset’ (he didn’t actually use that word!) over those tariffs, his comments fell rather flat.
Deciding to really go for it, Sir Keir proclaimed wildly (not): “The old assumptions should be discarded”.
Leading his country (or countries) is apparently not his forté if he talks about discarding assumptions!
Perhaps all those advisers that surround our Prime Minister should have a word with him about his ‘instinct’…
The memories of Phil’s astonishing, decades long award-winning career in journalism (when political stories were often crucial), as he was gripped by the rare neurological disabling condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in the book ‘A Good Story’. Order it now
