It was only a few weeks ago that Keir Starmer was insisting he would remain an MP until the next general election. So we should all probably have guessed that he would be off at the earliest opportunity. U-turns were a distinguishing feature of his two years in office.
And what former prime minister could resist upstaging the new one hours before his first appearance at the government dispatch box for 16 years? Especially when the new one had been plotting his downfall for at least a year. It’s what everyone would have wanted.
Not that Starmer was framing his decision in these terms. This wasn’t a simple matter of revenge. Or a need to still feel relevant.
These were the last things on his mind. Keir has only ever wanted what was best for Andy. But he now had his own life to think about.
And why tell the world about it on a bank holiday weekend when nobody is paying attention to the news, when you can wait till the first day of the new parliamentary session and grab the headlines? Keir said in his statement that he had really meant it when he said he would remain MP for Holborn and St Pancras, but it had only latterly dawned on him that this would be incompatible with his ambitions to be a player on the international stage. Please spare us from another Tony Blair.
There again, Keir is unlikely to be invited on to Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. He should use that as his calling card. In truth though, Keir had never seemed that interested in representing his constituents or serving as a backbencher.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
