Last Monday, Keir Starmer made the first good decision of his premiership: he resigned.
Even so, he managed to do it for the wrong reasons and at the wrong time.
Did he step down because he’d failed to secure our borders? No.
Did he realise his shameful Chagos surrender deal was a direct threat to national security? Obviously not.
Did he come to his senses and realise that his hounding of brave British soldiers who had served their country was an unpatriotic disgrace?
Regrettably, no. Starmer’s decision to go had nothing to do with a sudden burst of moral clarity or the discovery of deeply buried principles.
Instead, he decided to jump before he was pushed. And, as a result of his timing and his weakness, Britain is now faced with the grim prospect of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister.
The costs are already beginning to mount.
His first priority is set to be tearing up Shabana Mahmood’s plans to delay the Boriswave’s eligibility for Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) – giving up to 2.2 million migrants permanent residence, full access to benefits, and the right to social housing in the next few years.
Worse still, they’d be able to start sponsoring relations at home.
By speeding these low-skilled, low-wage workers into our welfare system, Burnham is set to put the British taxpayer on the hook for at least £50billion – roughly £1,800 for every household in the country, or four-fifths of our defence budget.
Think about that every time Labour says there’s no money to keep Britain safe: there’s plenty of cash to spend on migrant welfare.
The simple truth is that only one party can be trusted to do what’s right for Britain and what’s right for the taxpayer.
Burnham’s surrender would be a costly debacle, but Mahmood’s plans still had us on course for fiscal disaster.
The total cost of the Boriswave is set to be £622billion over decades – a cost that you, and your children, will spend your working lives paying.
Knocking £50billion off this total simply wouldn’t do enough to fix it.
Only a Reform Government can get us out of this mess.
If Burnham tries to make the Boriswave permanent, we will reverse it: abolishing ILR, rescinding residence rights of those dependent on the state, and reforming the immigration system so that no Government can ever behave so recklessly again.
