Matt Goodwin analysis: Starmer did not ONCE mention what the British people care about most

The University of Kent professor said: "Wow. Prime Minister Keir Starmer just gave a “State of the Nation” speech and did not once mention what the British people say is the top issue facing their country.

"Immigration."

The August 2024 Ipsos Issues Index showed a large increase in concern about immigration and especially crime and race relations in the aftermath of anti-immigration riots seen across the UK early this month. =

Thirty-four per cent say immigration is now an important issue for the country, putting it top of the issues list for the first time in almost eight years.

This includes 75% of Reform UK supporters, 62% of Conservative party supporters, 45% of those from social grade C2 and 43% of those aged 65 and over.

Goodwin added: "Keir Starmer doubles down. He blames the recent protests on 'mindless thugs', a 'spiral of populism', and dismisses any talk of 'legitimate protest' as a 'pretence'.

"Did not once mention why people might feel unsafe."

It comes as Starmer said rioters were betting on the broken prisons system, as he claimed those behind the recent unrest following the fatal Southport stabbings “exploited” the capacity crisis.

In July this year, the Labour Government set out legislation to reduce the amount of time inmates must spend in jail before they are automatically released, from 50% of their sentence to 40%, in a bid to manage overcrowding.

The Prime Minister has now claimed the early release scheme was an essential part of the Government’s response to the riots and its ability to prosecute perpetrators of the violence.

Sir Keir added that the decision to release prisoners early was difficult and “goes against the grain of everything I’ve ever done”, referring to his former role as chief prosecutor.

In a speech from Downing Street’s rose garden on Tuesday, he said: “Every day of that disorder, literally every day, we had to check the precise number of prison places and where those places were to make sure we could arrest, charge and prosecute people quickly.

“Not having enough prison places is about as fundamental a failure as you can get and those people throwing rocks, torching cars, making threats, they didn’t just know the system was broken, they were betting on it, gaming it.

“They thought: ‘Ah, they’ll never arrest me and if they do, I won’t be prosecuted, and if I am, I won’t get much of a sentence.’

“They saw the cracks in our society after 14 years of failure and they exploited them. That’s what we’ve inherited. Not just an economic black hole, a societal black hole, and that’s why we have to take action and do things differently.”