Keir Starmer’s allies spy a silver lining at the end of a week dominated by Elon Musk’s interventions in British politics and global market turmoil that endangers the UK prime minister’s economic plans.
While much of Westminster was preoccupied with the spectacle of Musk hurling insults at the premier, his ministers and policies, Starmer’s aides were growing increasingly concerned that a brutal bond selloff posed by far the bigger threat, with the potential to force Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves into an unpopular round of spending cuts when the Office for Budget Responsibility updates its forecasts in March.
But amid the market turbulence, Labour advisers and lawmakers took solace from a week they believe bolstered efforts to cast the premier as a reasonable leader in an uncertain time, in stark contrast to the alternatives on offer to British voters. They all asked not to be named discussing internal government thinking.
Those around Starmer think the circus surrounding Musk show how they can frame the political narrative in the UK until the next election. The billionaire Tesla chief has grabbed attention across the continent by waging a daily online campaign against centrist European leaders, especially the UK premier, who he condemned on his social media platform X for failing to call a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation in British towns by gangs of abusers of predominantly Pakistani heritage.
Yet Musk’s efforts to destabilize Starmer appeared to backfire when he endorsed jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson, a move that sparked a surprise fallout with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who until last Sunday had enjoyed the tech mogul’s backing.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Conservatives rowed in behind Musk’s call for an inquiry, with party leader Kemi Badenoch focusing her six questions at Wednesday’s weekly session of Prime Minister’s Questions on the topic, rather than the markets. Starmer stressed the importance of acting on the recommendations of a previous probe that the Tories had failed to implement when in government.
The Farage plot twist and the Tory actions gave Starmer a reprieve and left Labour strategists feeling they are in a much better place politically. An ally of the premier said they will argue Britons have a choice between a steady, sensible, reality-based politician and an opportunist Conservative opposition that is chasing the shadows of a turbulent hard-right represented by Musk, Farage and the incoming US president, Donald Trump.
For businesses, investors and middle-ground voters who care about jobs, stability and security, it is Starmer who is holding back the tide against Britain turning in a more dangerous direction, even if they don’t support his every decision, another person close to the premier said.
Starmer’s aides feel vindicated by their approach of tuning out from the noise of day-to-day politics to focus on policy, arguing it was right to ignore Musk until he praised Robinson and split with Farage. That was the moment to hit back, one said, as Starmer did on Monday when he said Musk’s invective aimed at one of his ministers had put them in danger and meant “a line had been crossed.”
“This week saw the best of Keir as he was able to display a very British sense of calm and measured outrage,” said John McTernan, former adviser to Tony Blair and strategist for BCW Global. “The argument was won by strategic patience. Sometimes you have to wait for your enemy to make a mistake, and that’s exactly what Musk did by endorsing Tommy Robinson.”
While Starmer’s public remarks were characteristically understated, behind the scenes, Labour officials were seething at the Tories, who forced a vote in Parliament calling for a fresh inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. A Labour official said it was shameless politicking when the Conservatives had failed to hold such an inquiry while in office. Another said Starmer would show voters he is tougher than the opposition on a range of typically Tory areas from child abuse to immigration.
Nevertheless, Starmer’s orders for Labour lawmakers to oppose the Tories’ call for an inquiry left some uncomfortable. One said that while their leader had the facts on his side and they thought most voters would disagree with Musk’s more extreme language, it was nonetheless concerning that the right had boxed Labour into a corner where they were voting against the demands of sex abuse victims.
That’s the reality of trying to govern amid the political cut-and-thrust that Starmer famously despises, one of his allies said. While the media was following Musk’s every tweet, the premier was in meetings or reading papers requiring decisions on serious problems from Russia’s war in Ukraine to a winter crisis slamming the National Health Service and concerning reports about a major strain of bird flu, they said.
None is more worrying for Starmer and Reeves than the prospect of the markets derailing their economic plans, after this week’s bond moves raised borrowing costs and ate up her slim budgetary headroom.
Aides remain optimistic that there are still some weeks to go until the OBR reports, and any future moves in the right direction could see the chancellor claw back some headroom and avoid having to impose austerity-style measures. They also suggest that interest rate cuts by the Bank of England should provide some respite for a stagnant economy. Reeves — who’s in China this weekend seeking to strengthen economic ties — will give a speech in the coming weeks unveiling new measures aimed at boosting domestic growth.
Still, those aides concede the government has only limited room for maneuver amid the global rout. Deeper spending cuts would be politically unpalatable and any more tax rises would be a nightmare prospect, one said, adding that keeping the economy and the public finances secure is what keeps Starmer and Reeves up at night, not Musk.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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