Keir Starmer’s ruthless streak shows the Tories have been wrong to write him off as just a ‘Remainer lawyer’

From Brexit to the sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey, the Labour leader has surprised many Conservatives, writes Andrew Grice

Keir Starmer's swift handling of the Rebecca Long-Bailey situation showed decisive leadership (Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

Dominic Cummings has described Keir Starmer as a “Remainer lawyer”. The Labour leader is also happy to trade legal jibes with Boris Johnson during prime minister’s questions; both use phrases such as “no more witnesses”. Starmer can’t deny his past as director of public prosecutions and sees no reason to. Johnson’s attack is meant to show his adversary will argue one case one day and another the next, so he believes in nothing. But some Tories doubt its potency. Do the public really hate lawyers?

As for the other half of Cummings’ label, Starmer stubbornly refuses to play the Remainer part Johnson hoped and expected he would. Starmer has declined to join the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh governments and the Scottish Labour Party in calling for an extension to the transitional period beyond 31 December.

Significantly, Starmer’s determination to throw off his Remainer tag has contributed to Johnson adopting a more positive stance in trade deal talks with the EU – which resume on Monday for an intensive five-week phase. Insiders in London and Brussels tell me they are prepared to make concessions. So far, the two camps have traded blows online but the switch to face-to-face talks should make serious negotiations easier.

EU leaders, struggling to agree a co-ordinated approach to coronavirus, had hoped for an extension so they could delay the moment of truth on Brexit. But they have finally accepted Johnson will not extend the transition and know they need to get a move on. They are preparing to dilute their demand for access to UK fishing waters along current lines, and hope the UK will reciprocate by agreeing to respect EU rules on state aid to companies, workers’ rights and the environment. The role of the European Court of Justice remains a sticking point but would not necessarily be a deal-breaker if the other issues were resolved.

UK ministers, who have been threatening the EU with a “no trade deal” scenario on 1 January, have suddenly become more optimistic about getting a deal. Privately, some admit one reason they will go all out for an agreement is to deny Starmer any attack lines on Brexit. He would warn that no deal would compound the economic damage from the pandemic, and could make his case on economic grounds, not as a Remainer. One government source told me: “We don’t want to give Starmer any space on this issue.”

Although Johnson’s huge Commons majority and election mandate give him a largely free hand on Brexit for now, newly-elected Tory MPs representing the “red wall” of former Labour seats in the North and Midlands are independent-minded and might become vocal opponents of no deal, which would hurt their constituents harder than those in many other regions.

Both Johnson and Starmer have their eyes firmly on the former Labour voters in the “red wall”, who will likely decide the next election. Opinion polls and focus groups suggest a reheated Vote Leave campaign might fail to impress them; their priorities are “fairness”, the NHS, the cost of living, immigration and whether politicians stand up for them.

James Johnson, who ran Theresa May’s Downing Street polling and co-founded pollsters JL Partners, said: “Brexit matters to these voters but their values matter most. There might be a risk to Number 10 in trying to turn this into another Brexit culture war. There might just be a backlash.” He said in a Changing Europe event marking the fourth anniversary of the Brexit referendum: “The reason the Conservatives won so well in December was not because of a Brexit culture war but because of Brexit boredom … People were desperate to get it done.”

Tory MPs were also disappointed when Starmer refused to support those who toppled Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol; he didn’t live up to their image of him as a “leftie lawyer” who would be “soft” on law and order. It is dawning on senior Tories that Starmer will be clever enough to avoid the traps they set for him. So it would be a mistake for Johnson to fight the last war and replay his greatest hit on Brexit.

As his sacking of Rebecca Long-Bailey showed, Starmer’s critics inside and outside the party who think he is too cautious, will underestimate him at their peril. It was stronger and more decisive leadership than Johnson has shown over Cummings’ travels during the lockdown or Robert Jenrick’s murky dealings with Richard Desmond.

Starmer is proving more adept at choosing his battlegrounds than Johnson. While his hard left opponents might rally the wider party against him if he dumped Jeremy Corbyn’s policies, there is understandably little appetite for a fight over the issue of antisemitism.