Yesterday the BBC held the first interview with new Prime Minister Keir Starmer since his electoral success in July. Held by interviewer Laura Kuenssberg she asked the hard-hitting questions on the direction the UK needs to go, and what these extreme riots have illuminated about our society.
Mr Starmer starts by ensuring his reasoning for going into politics was to “change the country for the better”. Yet with far-right riots in over 20 cities and towns throughout the UK, the repercussions of these incidents and the issues that are deeply rooted in members of society are clear. Mr. Starmer highlighted that these “riots were symbolic of a broken society” but wanted to stress they were “not capable of justification”.
Mr Starmer stated very clearly when asked, do you think the UK is a racist country? “I do not think the UK is a racist country”. He placed weight on the “societal black hole” that does exist, and how he aims to mend society as a whole. He believes that the action of not waiting longer than a week for the perpetrators to be served with prison time, is in short the reason why these riots were then controlled. This was proven by the longest prison time being given to Mr Thomas Burley earlier this week. He attacked a hotel housing asylum seekers and has been sentenced to 9 years.
Mr Starmer then focused on who the real people of Britain were. They included the people who went off on their own accord to distribute food to the communities that had been affected by the riots. The people started to heal as a community and clean the streets where the debris had been left. Mr Starmer reaffirmed that these were the ‘real faces of Britain’ who were essential in uniting the country again.
When asked about the fears people have on the far right, and the increase in their riots and aggression, Mr Starmer confirmed that he “is worried about the rise of the far right” and that he is convinced that the answer to this “is the delivery in government”.
This means delivering on the goals that were promised which led to his election. This includes an “improvement in living standards, properly functioning public services like the NHS, and to deal with issues of immigration and crime”. He reiterated his passion for delivering these promises by stating he was “utterly focused on ensuring we bring about this in the period we have in government”.
It is evident Mr Keir Starmer’s passion for change was acknowledged. However, his statement that the UK was not a racist country has caused distress to many. People on social media have shown images and videos from the riots with the quote “We are not a racist country” thus disagreeing with the Prime Minister’s point. In addition, people stated, “more needs to be done” and “they’re tired of it”. It seems that Mr Starmer will have to prove his points through action, and not just talk the talk on such a huge issue that affects all aspects of society.
