Outside of war, has there been a more dismal message from any new PM than Sir Keir Starmer’s speech?

Frowning St

EVERYTHING is awful and about to get worse. Outside of war, has there been a more dismal message from any new PM?

In fairness Keir Starmer has a point on some of it.

Sir Keir will justifiably feel he has a mountain to climb to achieve change

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Sir Keir will justifiably feel he has a mountain to climb to achieve changeCredit: Alamy

The Tories DON’T have much to boast about from 14 years in power.

True, they were hamstrung by coalition, then post-Brexit parliamentary paralysis, Covid and war.

Even so they seemed far more interested in focus groups and bickering than taking major decisions.

These they ducked, sent out for endless consultations or filed in the too-hard basket.

The lack of new prisons, homes, power plants and reservoirs tells its own story, as do our crumbling roads.

So Sir Keir will justifiably feel he has a mountain to climb to achieve change.

On other issues he is not being honest.

The economy is in decent shape.

And despite his inexhaustible contempt for the Tories, the riots did not reflect their years of failure (unless the 2011 riots reflected 13 years of Labour failure till 2010).

Watch live: PM Downing Street press conference to mark return to Parliament

These were far-right thugs triggered by illegal immigration, which Labour has opposed, or scrapped, all measures to stop.

And when the PM took the “difficult decision” to make OAPs poorer to “fix the NHS” he merely means he bribed the hard-left unions to stop striking.

Even that failed, since Aslef immediately announced a new walkout and the BMA threatened another in a year.

The £22billion “Tory black hole” doesn’t really exist.

Much of it was created by Labour, needing cash to pay their union allies.

So the premise of October’s grim-sounding Budget is flawed.

And Starmer won’t achieve his priority, growth, by raising taxes from their 70-year high.

Or by paying unions a ­fortune not to cripple public services.

At some point he must say No.

For Labour, THAT is a difficult decision.

Web of deceit

MARK Zuckerberg’s belated confession about Facebook and Instagram censoring posts to appease Joe Biden’s government reflects appallingly on both men.

Even jokes about Covid were taken down, deemed dangerous. Biden’s team also persuaded Facebook to demote coverage of a scandal about his son.

The Democrats abused their power, Zuckerberg’s left-wing team rolled over — and he has come clean only with the incompetent Biden now deposed.

It sucks, Zuck.

Mad for ’em

WHAT a story on a morning of glory. At 8am the fabled Oasis reunion was finally on.

We cannot wait.

But if you miss out on tickets here’s our advice: Stop crying your heart out.

Don’t look back in anger. Roll with it. And don’t go away, or slide away . . . more gigs will be announced.

Some might say that’s the masterplan.

D’you know what we mean?