To be wondering why we're not hearing more from Labour on this?

[theduchessstill]

I have been so impressed with Keir Starmer since he took over but I'm bemused as to why we're not hearing more from him on Cummings situation.

Views I've seen are that he's giving the Tories the space to hang themselves, which I hope is true; that he's a red Tory, which is obviously bollocks, or that he's rubbish, which I hope isn't true and is against my instinct. What do people here think?

Yanbu - he's got a plan
Yabu - he's wasting this opportunity

Maybe he’s saying nothing as it’ll only come back and bite him when one of his labour team are inevitably caught out breaking restrictions.

Starmer is playing it really well. A lot of Tory MPs and supporters are busy saying what a tool Cummings has been.

Why would Starmer want to intervene? All that would do is give the Tories a target/excuse.

I think the Tories are doing a lot of their own heavy lifting on this. Lots of criticism from their own MPs means Labour doesn't have to do too much.

Does he really have to say anything?

It seems very sensible at the moment the story is focused on Johnson and Cummings as it should be - Starmer wading in without careful preparation carries the risk that the emphasis will be shifted to his response.

Because 4 of their MPs broke lockdown rules and he’d be a massive hypocrite if he did

Parliament reopens next week. Perhaps he’s waiting for PMQ? But yes. Labour reticent. The Shadow Minister for Housing was interviewed over the weekend. She was very good.

Apparently when asked who was doing the press interviews for Labour yesterday, someone replied “Michael Gove”.

Think he’s doing the right thing- the last opposition spent far to much time snipping at the other side and lost sight of the need for them to
Create a strong, logical opposition!

24 May Keri Starmer
"If I were Prime Minister, I would have sacked Cummings."

I think that’s clear enough.

Starmer knows he needs to avoid being brought into the story. Otherwise the still govt friendly papers will lead with 'Starmer slams PM..' and it's then about him not the govt's mistakes. Better to let Tory MPs, other commentators and ordinary voters stick the knife in for him, as they are doing.

Sorry Keir

Because he doesn't want the Stephen Kinnock or Tahir Ali situations to be brought up.

He also said
“This was a test of the Prime Minister and he has failed it.

It is an insult to sacrifices made by the British people that Boris Johnson has chosen to take no action against Dominic Cummings.”

Plus he can say what he would do, but he can't make it happen. So demanding Cummings' resignation would mean he sets himself up for failure. His phrasing has been smart.

I have wondered the same thing, OP. Starmer is conspicuously quiet, if that makes sense.

Either he is playing a tactical game in which he lets the Tories get on with tearing themselves apart In public, reasoning that vocal criticism from Labour would give them the opportunity to turn their fire on him, rather than themselves....

Or, he may want to avoid detailed media scrutiny of his own movements or those of one of his team during lockdown.

"Never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake"

Napoleon Bonaparte

Main reason is Keir’s trying to divide the Tories. At the moment, there’s huge discontent among the Conservatives and they’re turning on No.10—if Labour attack, they’ll risk pushing Tories to rally around the PM again. Also, the Ministers taking to the airwaves are embarrassing themselves—a member of Keir’s team was asked a few days ago who’s doing the press rounds today for Labour, he replied with the name of a Conservative minister. Classic tactic of let No.10 tie themselves in knots, let Tory backbenchers feel safe to attack their leadership.

Brilliant tactic—if Keir had come out too strong early on, he’d have risked putting off Tory backbencher from attacking the leadership. Plus, the more Ministers who tarnish their brand by supporting No.10, the better.

Labour have been pushing the line “it’s one rule for them, another rule for everyone else” via social media, press etc and this is now being parroted by members of the public—straight out of the Dom Cummings “get Brexit done” or Lynton Crosby “strong and stable”/“coalition of chaos” playbook.

What it really shows is Labour MPs now have the trust in their leader’s strategy to toe the line, and accept less individual press coverage for the sake of an overall win. Huge success from them.

Maybe he’s saying nothing as it’ll only come back and bite him when one of his labour team are inevitably caught out breaking restrictions.

That would by theory, too.

Labour have also written to the head of the civil service asking for an urgent inquiry into the matter. It's a clever move because if No10 refuses an inquiry then they're going something, if they allow the inquiry and it rules against Cummings then the pressure to sack him will intensify.

*hiding

Give them enough rope to hang themselves.

Yes, I did see the statements at the weekend but not a lot since. It definitely makes sense to allow most of the outrage to come from within the oarty but I hope it won't lead to people wondering where they are or them seeming irrelevant. I suppose it's early days though and Keir knows what he's doing.

*party

He’s doing the right thing. Letting the tories who want him our kick up a stink while he stays out of it, meaning no-one can accuse labour of making this a party political issue, or giving the tories the excuse to attack him instead of managing their own members.