Now she faces a new rival. Keir Starmer has turned out to be good at politics. Originally elected as a transitional leader someone expected to start the long trudge back to electability, but not, perhaps, to be leader on arrival at the promised land he is now the coming power. The sunflowers are turning to the new sun. Even in Scotland, the Labour Party is coming back to life and looking as if it might be relevant in future.
Because she is such a good politician, Sturgeon senses the threat. Hence the fighting talk in her interview with Lewis Goodall on The News Agents, a political podcast, on Friday. First, she paid Starmer the compliment of disappointment: "I had some good interactions with Keir over Brexit, and actually his position now is one of the reasons that I've lost a bit of respect for him.”
Aligning herself with the suppressed views of many Labour members, she criticised Starmer for triangulating and fudging over the EU: "He won't even countenance going back into the EU or even the single market and the customs union." Then she seamlessly linked this to Starmer's party being "a pale imitation of a Tory government".
This is the standard SNP line, but that it is what many Labour members fear is what makes it so effective. Especially in Scotland, where much of the SNP vote consists of former Labour supporters animated by opposition to the Conservatives: "He needs to have a bit more principle, a bit more difference, and actually a bit more guts to take on the Tories and to take on the right-wing media."
この記事は The Independent の January 29, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Independent の January 29, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Is Nadal in Paris the most dominant athlete in history?
Few athletes receive the honour of having a statue built for them at the end of their careers.
Klopp leaves an overflowing in-tray for Slot at Liverpool
Jurgen Klopp offered one last example of his skills as a motivator. He has proved time and again he can galvanise 11 people.
Rashford axed as Southgate calls up new faces to squad
Five uncapped players in frame for England's Euros bid
Pochettino leaves Chelsea after one season in charge
Mauricio Pochettino left Chelsea yesterday, just two days after the end of his first season in charge of the southwest London club.
Used car sales app Cazoo calls in the administrators
Online car seller Cazoo has gone into administration, three years after it listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of £5bn ($6.3bn).
Costner's new epic proves he is Hollywood's outlaw
The first part of a four-film saga by the 'Dances with Wolves' star isn't going down well at Cannes, but his recent TV series shows we can't underestimate his appeal, says Louis Chilton
No plot, all atmosphere...meet the 21st-century novel
Yael van der Wouden's hyped debut 'The Safekeep' has been compared to Patricia Highsmith and Sarah Waters. But the lack of narrative thrust is a problem, says Robert McCrum
Dreams have no deadlines
As a 90-year-old astronaut blasts into space and a man in his sixties becomes a modelling sensation, Helen Coffey finds that living life to its fullest is not just for young people
Are airfares rising or not?
Q I’m extremely confused. My experience as a frequent holidaymaker is that prices are rising inexorably. But now Ryanair is saying it doesn’t expect airfares to go up much, if at all. What’s your take?
'Nature is unfair, but it does offer some great remedies'
Taking over from the rakish Jeffrey Bernard, Jeremy Clarke wrote the Low Life column in 'The Spectator' for 20 years until his death from cancer in 2023. His witty account of his battle with the disease, The Final Years, is extracted here