In the wake of the Southport riots in August Yvette Cooper commissioned a “rapid analytical sprint” review into extremism policy, whose contents have now been leaked to think tank Policy Exchange. In the view of the Home Office:
Policy Exchange warns counter-terror forces’ attention would be diluted by the recommendations, which also threaten free speech and to tar “swathes of the public” as far-right for no reason. Labour claims it has rejected the widened definition of extremism and has yet to sign off on the report. The Home Office says it is “considering a wide range of potential next steps arising” from the document. Nonetheless, the above is the internal view of the Home Office. And Whitehall usually gets its way…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”