Labour recycles alarm at PM’S trans comments after binning pledge over green investment
In the end, Labour’s ritual slaughter of the £28 billion green albatross happened behind closed doors – in what was billed as an “on-the-record huddle” (who comes up with this stuff ?), with no Q&A and no television cameras. The announcement, scheduled to take place in Narnia or Brigadoon, seemed calculated to avoid embarrassment. When the public face of your policy has been Ed Miliband, this rather comes with the territory.
Poor Ed, staking his post-baconsandwich reputation on being the nerd’s Greta, only to have Evil Uncle Keir lock him in his bedroom and announce to a group of pre-selected journos that the greens were off, actually. Presumably this was for Ed’s own safety, lest he hurled himself on to the funeral pyre of his own policy. Think Beaker from the Muppets plays Dido, Queen of Carthage.
Rather than their own policies – or rather ex-policies – about which they, unsurprisingly, kept shtum, Labour preferred to continue their outrage from Wednesday’s PMQS. At Business Questions, Lucy Powell, the shadow commons leader, turned to the Prime Minister’s crass comments in the light of Brianna Ghey’s murder, which, said Powell, “many of us found … deeply offensive and distasteful”.
Having the Rishi Sunak on the rack about this, it is clear Labour want to keep him there. It increasingly looks like they’re enjoying it. Which, one might gently suggest, isn’t quite the deeply tasteful and respectful tribute they think it is.
Kemi Badenoch had also earned herself a place on the naughty step: “The Equalities Secretary” – Ms Powell almost spat these words out – “whose job it is to stand up for the marginalised … doubled down”. She demanded Penny Mordaunt apologise on behalf of the Prime Minister. “The Leader of the House has a better record than her party on this, and I know she will be appalled too.” By “better record”, she presumably means Ms Mordaunt’s previous support for gender self-id. Labour’s instincts are becoming clearer by the day…
What followed was not quite an apology, but one of Ms Mordaunt’s trademark patriotic monologues; presumably she imagines herself delivering these speeches with a Last Night of the Proms backing track. “We owe it to the people who sent us here to strive to make them proud,” said Penny. No danger of that anytime soon.
Beneath the Richard Curtis verbal Viagra lurked a rebuke. The implication was that perhaps Mr Sunak had gone too far and should reflect on his remarks.
Labour MP Justin Madders asked the Leader of the House to pay tribute to two young charity fundraisers from his constituency. Maximum respect to Heidi and Lloyd, but is Parliament really the place for this? Every day seems to be “bring your constituent to work” day.
Still, this being Twee Britannia where the spirit of Captain Tom lives on (despite his daughter’s best efforts), Ms Mordaunt obediently congratulated Heidi and Lloyd and called for a parliamentary debate about their contributions.