What will it take before Keir Starmer finally gets it? Or for any of his MPs and ministers, who are preparing to dutifully traipse through the lobbies to block a full public inquiry into the rape and abuse of thousands of working-class British girls, to get it?
On Monday he drew himself up to his full, righteous height and denounced those politicians and activists he said were fuelling extremism. By calling for a judge-led investigation into the so-called grooming gangs they were ‘amplifying what the far-Right is saying’, he raged. And ‘jumping on a far-Right bandwagon’.
He was wrong. So wrong I’m starting to wonder whether Starmer has even the most basic understanding of the nation he purports to lead.
It’s not incarcerated football thugs like Tommy Robinson, or unhinged social-media loudmouths like Elon Musk, or political opportunists such as Robert Jenrick who are ‘amplifying’ the extremists. But the Prime Minister himself.
What is the narrative currently being constructed by the far-Right about the rape gangs? It is that the comprehensively documented, systematic abuse of predominately white girls by mainly Muslim Pakistani heritage men was perpetuated, and is still being perpetuated, thanks to a cover-up by the mainstream political establishment.
And what has the Government just done? Refused an inquiry, denied the victims the justice they are seeking, reinforced the perception the Establishment has something to hide, and handed the racist agitators a propaganda coup without parallel.
Jumping on the bandwagon? It’s Keir Starmer who’s just dragged the bandwagon out of the barn, hitched up the horses and given it a new lick of paint.
The Prime Minister now needs to stop and step back. And ask himself some simple, fundamental questions.
Sir Keir Starmer has denounced those politicians and activists he said were fuelling extremism
First, is the nature of the abuse of such a scale it warrants a full, national, public inquiry? The answer to that question is self-evidently yes.
Hundreds of men have been convicted of tens of thousands of offences involving thousands of victims. Rape and torture and were perpetrated on an industrial and national scale – and there were even reports of murders. The case for an inquiry is unanswerable.
Secondly, have we had such an inquiry to date? The answer is no.
We have had a handful of inquiries into localised assaults. The Jay Inquiry was a sprawling, unwieldy investigation into all forms of child abuse, of which the rape gangs only formed a relatively small component. To the extent that whilst Alexis Jay’s inquiry was ongoing, a number of victims’ groups announced they would be withdrawing cooperation because they felt the voice of victims were being marginalised.
Thirdly, would acting on the Jay recommendations be sufficient to expose and resolve this national scandal, and ensure it can never be repeated? Again, the answer is clearly no.
Jay and her supporters have been making great play of the need to implement the 20 key recommendations of her national investigation. But hardly any of them relate to the specific issue of the rape gangs.
Three deal with the general issue of victims’ financial compensation. Seven relate to children in care. Two relate to the retention of data. Others include such ephemera as ‘a public awareness campaign on child sexual abuse’ and ‘the creation of a Cabinet-level minister for children’.
But if people genuinely think the solution to the worst systemic abuse of children in modern British history is a public awareness campaign, fine. Let’s have one.
It’s not incarcerated football thugs like Tommy Robinson, left, or unhinged social-media loudmouths like Elon Musk who are ‘amplifying’ the extremists
There’s no rational reason that should preclude a proper, judge-led investigation into how that abuse was allowed to continue unchecked for decades.
The reality is that the sudden zeal of Keir Starmer to implement the Jay recommendations is a smoke-screen. If he genuinely believed they held the key to protecting our children, he could have appointed ‘a Cabinet-level minister for children’ on day one of his administration.
But he didn’t. And the reason he didn’t is that the Prime Minister simply doesn’t understand the festering public anger of the British people at this appalling injustice.
Or worse, he doesn’t trust them enough. He thinks that if he announces a full public inquiry it will send Britain rushing into the arms of the English Defence League.
Yet the opposite is true. The voters can see Tommy Robinson for what he is. They can see the online rabble-rousing of Musk. And the cynical opportunism of Tory shadow ministers who had 14 years to hold an inquiry, and did nothing.
But they have seen something else. They have seen Starmer and his Labour colleagues demanding public inquiries and transparency and justice into just about every conceivable public and political issue.
Into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Hillsborough. Phone-hacking. The banking crisis. In the election they even saw Labour pledge that if they secured power they would hold a full public inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave during the miners’ strike.
So when they suddenly see Starmer and his ministers fall silent, and those cries for justice and transparency die on their lips, where precisely are they supposed to turn? Who are they supposed to seek political leadership from? Who speaks for them? Who speaks for the victims of the rape gangs?
This is what really ‘amplifies the far-Right’. The craven silence of our mainstream politicians. By whipping his MPs to vote against a public inquiry into the grooming gangs, Keir Starmer could not have done more for the extremists if he’d picked up an EDL flag and marched down Whitehall alongside their thugs.
And ultimately, it will prove to be an exercise not just in political stupidity, but futility. Because eventually, a full public inquiry into the rape gangs is going to be held.
One day, maybe in the not too distant future, Keir Starmer’s government is going to be replaced. Possibly by a rebuilt Tory party. Possibly by a resurgent Reform. Conceivably by some form of alliance of the two. And a pledge to hold that inquiry will have formed a central plank of that victorious new government’s manifesto.
There is no way this can be avoided now. The bandwagon is rolling. There is no stopping it.
Starmer and Labour can try to stand in its way. But if they do, it will crush them.
