From safety first to Palestine first, Keir Starmer shows some leadership | John Crace
By: John Crace | Published: 2025-07-29 18:30:00 | Source: www.theguardian.com
What a difference a week makes. Last Tuesday, Keir Starmer batted away all invitations to recognise the state of Palestine. It wasn’t happening. Keir was committed to being appalled by the situation in Gaza but not appalled enough to do anything about it.
He then received a letter from more than 250 MPs, including some cabinet ministers, later in the week begging him to recognise the state of Palestine. He still stonewalled. The time was not yet right.
Not even the opinion polls that showed most of the UK population supported the recognition of Palestine could move him. Keir knew best. Safety first. Don’t do anything to rock the boat.
Few were expecting that much of the emergency cabinet meeting to discuss Gaza. Some slightly stronger words to reflect the level of feeling among some…
