Keir Starmer 'ignored the elephant in the room' by not addressing immigration concerns

Keir Starmer 'ignored the elephant in the room' by not addressing immigration concerns

Esther Krakue says Keir Starmer has not addressed the elephant in the room

GB News
Gabrielle Wilde

By Gabrielle Wilde


Published: 25/09/2024

- 10:29

The Prime Minister promised to clamp down on illegal workers and migration in his conference speech yesterday

Political commentator Esther Krakue has claimed that the Prime Minister "ignored the elephant in the room" by not addressing immigrations concerns as she analysed the Labour leaders conference speech.

Sir Keir Starmer took to the stage yesterday for his keynote speech at the Labour conference, where he discussed the challenges facing Britain.


He also spoke about the Southport riots, which saw violence and disorder across the UK.

In his speech Starmer vowed never to let a "minority of violent, racist thugs terrorise our communities."

Keir Starmer

Keir vowed never to let a "minority of violent, racist thugs terrorise our communities."

PA

Krakue accused the Labour leader of being "deliberately obtuse" and "ignoring the elephant in the room" in his comments about the summer's unrest.

Speaking to GB News, she said: "It's clear that he's been working with the speech coach. He had some impactful pauses, should I say. It was a lot more polished. I've noticed that about him.

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"So he's making more of an effort with his image, which is something that's the positive."

She added: "I think he's being deliberately obtuse with his comments about sort of the Southport riots and all of these things. I think he's he's choosing to ignore the elephant in the room.

"I think the key takeaway that many people are going to take from what he said, particularly about the Southport riots, is the fact that it was an Yvette Cooper speech.

"It was the racists that are trying to divide this country, as if the country would be rejoicing if the person that murdered three little girls at a Taylor Swift dance class was white?

Esther Krakue

Esther Krakue said that he ignored the elephant in the room

GB News

"I think that's most people are not going to pretend like that's not really the message that he's sending, or the fact that he didn't really address people's concerns around not immigration, not just immigration, but integration.

"You can have a neighbour, but are you on the same page about the values that you're sharing in the space that you're sharing?"

Starmer's speech did address immigration and racism directly. He acknowledged concerns about immigration as "legitimate" but condemned the violent riots that occurred over the summer.

Starmer stated: "People concerned about immigration were not doing that because they understand that this country, this democratic country, is built on the rule of law."

He emphasised that racism is "vile" and rejected those who equate loving one's country with hating one's neighbour.

The Prime Minister also pledged to reduce net migration and Britain's economic dependency on foreign workers. He promised to crack down on businesses flouting visa rules and to boost skills training for young Britons.

Keir Starmer

The Prime Minister gave a passionate speech at the Labour conference yesterday

PA

He outlined plans for domestic policy, including welfare reform and a crackdown on benefit fraud, with an expected saving of £1.6bn over five years.

The Prime Minister also pledged to introduce a Hillsborough Law, requiring public officials to be transparent and giving greater powers to victims of major disasters.

On foreign policy, Starmer reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and a two-state solution.

He emphasised the need for "national renewal" and warned against "easy answers" and "false hope".

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