"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 those 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?"
"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. So every day is crisis day. And the reality is that his leader's speech at this year's Labour conference probably won't shift the dial that much. May soon be forgotten."
"He no longer seemed to be fighting against the autocue. The bad news? It was still a Keir Starmer speech. He's never going to turn himself into a natural communicator. He struggles to hold an audience. And for the first 20 minutes or so, it looked as if he might die on his feet. Even armed with flags, the delegates in the hall seemed somewhat disengaged."
Conference visuals included union jacks, saltires and red dragons, but questions arose about authenticity and patriotic display, including concerns that flags may have been made in a Chinese sweatshop. Cabinet members waved flags, yet the atmosphere lacked overtly patriotic attire and visible enthusiasm. The speech was presented as make-or-break amid poor poll ratings and constant crisis framing, but it is unlikely to markedly change public standing and may be quickly forgotten with bigger political battles ahead. Delivery improved compared with past performances, yet natural communication remains a struggle and delegates initially appeared disengaged before the tone shifted.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]