OPINION

       Keir Starmer has frozen instead of being courageous (Image: PA)

       A most peculiar thing is happening as our Labour Prime Minister appears to be channelling his inner Tory. In fact, if only we could believe a word he says he might turn out to be the most Conservative PM for decades. Circumstances both external and of Labour’s own making have presented Sir Keir Starmer with the opportunity to reform the UK in a way which was previously unthinkable for his party. And still is for some of his misguided cohort. Having allowed his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to trash the economy, Sir Kier has been on a real-life, real-time, crash course in economics.

       He has also been presented with the opportunity to play the statesman, perhaps learning a further, more ironic, lesson that he can only do so in his chosen manner because of the very thing he opposed — Brexit. Only free of his beloved EU bureaucracy can Starmer sound and act in the way he is now doing. Let’s look at the balance sheet with the pluses and minuses of Labour’s newfound reality.

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       Sir Kier appears to have no precepts or principles, but being the ultimate pragmatist does give latitude for multiple broken promises.

       To paraphrase one of the Left’s favourite economists, Maynard Keynes, “if the facts change I change my mind”. This can be a good thing.

       A number of declarations have been made in recent weeks that amount to policies which perhaps only Labour could possibly deliver. After all, anything Labour carries more legitimacy in the liberal-left broadcast media, whereas the Conservatives would be lambasted for the same action that earn's Sir Keir's lot praise.

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       Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has announced that NHS England will be abolished and the NHS run from the Department of Health, as indeed it was in the beginning.

       The duplicate bureaucracy of a Quango (arms-length organisation in this case) eliminated in one fell swoop. Absolutely fitting given that the NHS is a communist institution at the heart of a capitalist country.

       Mr Streeting is also targetting other quangos — a bonfire of which should be the pursuit of all right-wing governments. Mr Streeting is now channeling his inner Enoch Powell, whose Rivers of Blood speech met with such fury and fallout that it eclipsed the fact that he was one of the best Health Secretaries the UK ever had.

       Sir Kier himself appears to be targetting excessive red tape and the size of state-driven bodies, not least, by the poverty heaped upon our nation by the Marxist economics of Ms Reeves. Is the Chancellor actually an agent of the Right? Perhaps she was planted to educate the Government in the realities of investment, enterprise, markets and the impact of taxes by learning the hard way.

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       I, of course, jest, but the effect has been the same as if this was true. Let us hope Sir Kier continues to a bonfire of the quangos, not to mention the other drags on growth: regulators, secondary legislation, delegated powers, international treaties and bodies, professional codes of practice and the Treasury.

       The only problem is that the PM's bonfire of regulation focuses on admin costs only, not policies. Admin costs account for about 4% of the total cost of red tape to business and the Government target is to reduce this by a quarter, that is just 1% of the cost. In the meantime such a task will cost taxpayers millions, perhaps as much as ￡25million, to tackle. More “mullah” for Sir Humphrey!

       The red tape challenge is tackling the wrong costs, supported by the wrong solution. Labour only ever see solutions through the prism of the state.

       The PM's plan to cut welfare is encouraging. The current situation is bad for the recipients, the taxpayer and the nation. Only Labour stands a chance of getting away with it.

       Two cheers for Sir Kier, but will he deliver a meaningful reset? He is likely to be forced in that direction given that the Chancellor has pursued severely misguided economics, the emerging Trumpian international trade barriers and the likely reaction of the markets to further borrowing, all of which allow little room for manoeuvre. So far, so good. But what of the negative side of the balance sheet?

       Nicknames such as Two-Tier Keir, Rachel from Accounts and Mad Ed Miliband have found their mark and stuck for good reason — they capture the truth.

       The economy is likely to be permanently damaged, with higher unemployment and a divided nation in strife. That will be the legacy of Labour in office.

       The reasons Britons are becoming year on year poorer are because of Labour. Eye-wateringly high energy costs, self-inflicted via a useless Net Zero programme, a refusal to access our natural resources (gas,coal and oil) and technology (nuclear).

       High taxes on business reducing jobs and investment. Stultifying red tape and a continuing application of the Precautionary Principle, the antithesis of enterprise and growth. Job destroying Employment Laws merely to boost Trade Union power and income, but of no practical value to workers.

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       Rachel Reeves' 60 new changes to try and revive UK economy and cut red tape

       16 Comments

       Map shows UK towns with most jobless Brits claiming Universal Credit - check your area

       17 Comments

       Thousands of benefit claimants 'just ￡20 away from crisis' even before welfare reforms

       Comments

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       8 Comments

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       45 Comments

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       68 Comments

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       Comments

       POLL: Have Labour's benefits cuts gone too far?

       52 Comments

       I was at PMQs - here's my translation of what (I think) waffling Keir Starmer meant to say

       44 Comments

       Rachel Reeves wants you to think Labour has a plan but we all know the truth

       74 Comments

       Anger mounts as Starmer to march on with 'perverse' cuts sparking 'absolute horror'

       119 Comments

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       Comments

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       Undo

       I was at PMQs - here's my translation of what (I think) waffling Keir Starmer meant to say

       44 Comments

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       74 Comments

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       Learn More

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       Anger mounts as Starmer to march on with 'perverse' cuts sparking 'absolute horror'

       119 Comments

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       Victoria Derbyshire in furious Newsnight clash with Labour politician: 'Shame on them!'

       Comments

       Personal tax allowance ￡20,000 call hits major threshold as Keir Starmer questioned

       30 Comments

       UK economy shrinking as Labour's ￡40bn tax rise impacts growth

       26 Comments

       Labour's benefits crackdown is all talk - and there's one huge reason we can all see that

       45 Comments

       Kemi Badenoch sounds alarm as half of Brits 'reliant on the state'

       Comments

       Brits prepare for more misery as Rachel Reeves plots multibillion-pound spending squeeze

       14 Comments

       ‘Too little, too late!' Nick Ferrari slams Labour benefit cuts in LBC clash with minister

       7 Comments

       Date DWP benefit cuts come into effect revealed as part of ￡5bn overhaul

       125 Comments

       Rachel Reeves' 60 new changes to try and revive UK economy and cut red tape

       16 Comments

       Map shows UK towns with most jobless Brits claiming Universal Credit - check your area

       17 Comments

       Thousands of benefit claimants 'just ￡20 away from crisis' even before welfare reforms

       Comments

       Rachel Reeves' Spring Statement 'red alert' as risks mean investors cautious

       8 Comments

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       All the above are the root of the real Sir Kier unless he has the courage to sack his Chancellor and truly pursue wealth creation, economic growth and a self sufficient UK.

       At least there is now some hope, as Kemi Badenoch has had the courage and foresight to embark on a programme of promising to reverse Labour policies, starting with Net Zero.

       John Longworth is an entrepreneur and businessman, Chairman of the Independent Business Network and a former MEP