Keir Starmer's uncertain speech

Keir Starmer's uncertain speech

SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE July 06, 2023 View in browser Keir Starmer's uncertain speech The Labour leader gave an interesting speech on education today, but couldn't decide if the future is a threat or a promise. "As the future rushes towards us, we also need a greater emphasis on creativity, on resilience, on emotional intelligence and the ability to adapt," he said. That sounded unsettling to me, rather than "owning the future", which is what a successful party needs to do. The speech's MacGuffin, a promise to focus on oracy, or speaking skills, is fine and good. I admire Peter Hyman's innovative School 21 in east London, which pioneered this approach. Hyman is now one of Starmer's top advisers. But too much of the rest of Starmer's long speech was cliche and waffle.     Quiz question Which company has the largest share of new car sales in the UK? Answer at the bottom of today's email Daily briefing By-election headache for Rishi Sunak as Chris Pincher faces suspension Sunak could now face as many as five difficult by-elections Government loses court battle to keep Boris' Covid WhatsApps secret 'Humiliating defeat' for government as High Court rules in favour of Covid inquiry Sir Keir Starmer pledges to smash 'class ceiling' with education reforms Labour leader sets out the last of his five missions  Articles driving the biggest conversations N-word scandal grows as DWP launches probe into racial slur also used by Met Office Articles available exclusively to subscribers The NHS is not a religion – we should stop treating it like one What else do you need to know today?   Mark Zuckerberg of Meta launched a social media rival to Twitter called Threads: I tried it and it's rubbish; it doesn't allow you to see only posts from people you choose to follow Labour U-turn watch: Keir Starmer confirmed, after his speech today, that he wouldn't promise to provide free school meals for all primary pupils; or to scrap the two-child limit on benefits This last prompted an assault from Monica Lennon, a Labour member of the Scottish parliament who ran for the leadership of the Scottish party two years ago: she said that the policy is "abhorrent", and that the party had to be "progressive and humane"  Thanks to Adam Forrest and Archie Mitchell, without whom this newsletter would not be possible Rentoul's reading list     Wolfgang Münchau: Austerity is about to return to Europe (paywall) David Callaway says Joe Biden's battle against climate change is working – but American voters just don't care (Premium) Mary Harrington of Unherd: the NHS symbolises the lies and compromises of our postwar nation I wrote for Independent Premium about the government's defeat in court over who decides what is relevant to the Covid-19 inquiry   Enjoy a year of unlimited digital access for just £99 £20 ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more SUBSCRIBE NOW Inside the bubble A look back at the week in Westminster The prime minister was unfairly accused of running away from scrutiny by missing Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday. This was after he subjected himself to 90 minutes of interrogation by the chairs of select committees on Tuesday, which he handled with well-briefed assurance only occasionally slipping into tetchiness. And you can imagine what the reaction would have been if he had skipped the service to mark the 75th anniversary of NHS at Westminster Abbey instead. It is unfortunate, though, that he will miss next week's PMQs because he will be at the Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.    Quotation of the day "On Just Stop Oil I think they need to just stop." Keir Starmer, answering questions after his education speech Quiz answer: VW-Audi, 15 per cent, ahead of Ford, 8 per cent. Thanks to Frank Griffiths for pointing out, after I asked about four cities without cathedrals, that Leeds, which is bigger than any of them, also does not have an Anglican cathedral – although the Church of England's Diocese of Leeds does have cathedrals in Bradford, Ripon and Wakefield We noticed that you might not be registered By registering, you will enjoy limited access to Independent Premium articles, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists REGISTER FOR FREE OTHER NEWSLETTERS YOU MIGHT LIKE Morning Headlines Weekdays, 8am (UK time) Written by the UK team Join now Health Check Every Thursday, 7am (UK time) Written by Rebecca Thomas Join now Morning Headlines Weekdays, 8am (UK time) Written by the UK team Join now Health Check Every Thursday, 7am (UK time) Written by Rebecca Thomas Join now The Independent proudly partners with Refuge and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247 News you can trust The Independent has a 100% NewsGuard trust rating FIND OUT MORE If you can spare a minute we'd love your feedback on our newsletters. 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