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Amid the flag waving and cheers, Keir finds his voice
The Guardian
|October 01, 2025
It's a small thing and I don't want to sound churlish. But there just weren't enough flags.
Sure, there were union jacks on the banners around the conference stage. Sure, there were ushers handing out union jacks - along with saltires and red dragons for the Scots and the Welsh in the room. Just don't look too closely where these flags were made. It might well have been a Chinese sweat shop.
Sure, members of the cabinet were up and down like yo-yos with their union jacks. But where were the red, white and blue suits? Why wasn't Rachel Reeves channelling Geri Halliwell at the 1997 Brit awards. What's wrong with these people? Don't they love their country?
This speech had come billed as make or break for Keir Starmer. There again, everything is billed as make or break for Keir these days. There's a feeding frenzy over his poll ratings. The worst for a prime minister in living memory.
This story is from the October 01, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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