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

Starmer has, quietly and clearly, stated his feelings. Now it is just letting the tories, press etc. fall over themselves with all the embarrassing stuff. Next it will be, I imagine, a quite, clear and succinct set of questions - assuming questions are still appropriate at the point they next meet.

The reality is he doesn't need to get involved in the dog fight. He can just sit back and select some choice moments to throw at bojo at a later date.

Stephen Kinnock's account doesn't actually breach lockdown rules, unlike Cummings, so he's probably not especially concerned about that one. But essentially, although Starmer has given a response, obviously he's being guided by the don't interrupt your opponent while they're fucking up principle.

Several labour MPs have been caught breaking lockdown, I'd imagine he'd rather stay quiet than have that raised when it disappeared from the media fairly quickly, he'd have nothing new to add anyway

I think he's playing it perfectly. If he speaks up it can be seen as party political which it is not. Better to let Conservatives and the public call Cummings out on his behaviour.

A few labour MPs have broken lockdown rules (although not as badly as DC imo) so he won't want to be seen as being a hypocrite
Plus the Tories are turning on one another enough for him not to need to get involved

I don't Labour need to do anything. The stories are doing the job themselves at making themselves look utterly stupid.

And I voted Tory at the last election. I don't blame KS for just sitting back and watching it unfold.

Tidies not stories 🙄

Argh bloody auto correct.

Tories!!

Yeah there's no doubt Keir is currently playing this one well, wherever you sit on the spectrum. Johnson must be phenomenally relieved there's no PMQ this week!

Because he can’t do anything about Cummings and if he says anything the press will focus on him and say Momentum are trying to oust Cummings.

The cabinet and Cummings have tried to make this about Brexit but it’s not. It’s about truth, trust and fairness which is why people across the political spectrum from Brexiteers to Remainers as so frustrated by the fact DC is still in post. The Cabinet haven’t grasped this yet.

I suspect at least some of the Cabinet probably have grasped it, they just don't want to forfeit their jobs by saying so. Remember that aside from Gove most of them aren't particularly heavyweight or experienced politicians themselves, they're all pretty dispensable and owe their positions to patronage more than anything else. 10% of the backbench have called for Cummings to go though, and a number of the others are bitching.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Or as Sun Tzu said

The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting

It makes good political sense for Labour to sit back and watch the Tories implode, without doing anything to help them achieve it !

Let them keep digging their own hole. With every pathetic attempt to justify this shitshow they are inflicting damage on their own credibility.

because he will have to answer questions about the behaviour of some members of his own party
news.sky.com/story/lockdown-they-told-us-to-stay-home-then-went-out-the-political-figures-who-broke-the-rules-11993219

Yes at least 3labour MPs that we know of -press not pursuing them. Obviously would blow up in KS face if he jumped in demanding DC scalp. But he set the patern anyway over school -he say yay or nay as his party is hopelessly divided and he'll stay on the fence.

I don't see any credible plan from Labour...

Just constant criticism and the usual smoke and mirrors tactics that Labour use..

Same old same old..

There's no political mileage in it.

4 years until a general election, DC will survive in some way shape or form. What can possibly be achieved by kicking up a stink now

Starmer was on the news saying that he would have sacked Cummings. As this was before the full facts were known, and Starmer used to be a barrister, I was pretty shocked that he would say that. He's probably now staying quiet, and hoping that nobody saw that.

Happy the link doesn't prove your point very well, there's only one Labour politician in that story and he didn't even break the lockdown rules!

The rule at the time related to leaving the house, and allowed doing so in order to care for vulnerable people. This meant it was fine for Stephen Kinnock to leave to get his parents their shopping and there was nothing to prevent him from sitting in the garden once he got there.

The rules have changed now and relate to being outside the home not leaving the home, but I don't think people realise how wide and badly drafted they were at the start of lockdown. To the extent that Cummings' initial trip up to Durham probably didn't even breach them, although the Barnard Specsavers drive did.

I would suspect that there would be tales of Labour politicians doing the same.
But whilst they aren't stirring any neighbours of politicians who left their homes etc are not telling tales.

Keir is doing the careful thing. He knows there is bugger all the opposition can do thanks to Johnson's majority, so it's best to let to Tories rumble on whilst focusing on rebuilding his own party. There's local elections to think about in the medium future and the national prize in four years time.

Johnson, meanwhile, has made it clear he is Cummings mouthpiece. Not a good look with an upset party, as pandemic to manage and the forthcoming recession. Oh, let's not forget no-deal Brexit. Given the mess they have made when actual lives are on the line, it boggles the imagination to think what they will do for mere business when the "third country rules" kick in.

Stephen Kinnock's account doesn't actually breach lockdown rules

Stephen Kinnock claimed that he drove 300 miles there and back to give his parents some essential supplies on his father's birthday - the same day that his sister also visited their father to "safely deliver a cake, a crumble and a lamb curry!" - both tweeted on the same day with photos.

Stephen Kinnock -

www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/mar/29/stephen-kinnock-targeted-by-police-for-visiting-father-neil

"Police called as 'up to 100 mourners' defy city's six-person funeral limit in coronavirus lockdown.Those present included Birmingham MP Tahir Ali (Labour) - who attended two on the same day."

www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/police-called-up-100-mourners-18028561

Stephen Kinnock claimed that he drove 300 miles there and back to give his parents some essential supplies on his father's birthday - the same day that his sister also visited their father to "safely deliver a cake, a crumble and a lamb curry!" - both tweeted on the same day with photos.

Which lockdown rule, not guidance but legally enforceable rule, are you saying that Stephen Kinnock broke?