Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to cancel any holiday plans after a week of riots across the UK, with new polling showing that 71 per cent of people think the prime minister should not go away.
He was reportedly due to go on holiday last Monday, but No 10 confirmed that he would be spending the week working from Downing Street as violent disorder swept cities across the UK.
While Downing Street did not confirm whether the prime minister had any other holidays booked for the rest of August, there was speculation he may have planned a rescheduled trip for later this month.
New polling, conducted by YouGov, saw 71 per cent of people say he should not go on holiday next week. Just 14 per cent said he should take a break, while a further 14 per cent said they don’t know.
The polling, which surveyed 4,522 people, was conducted on Wednesday amid reports of up to 100 riots being planned for the UK later that day.
But the large-scale violence that was expected failed to materialise after thousands of counter-protesters turned up to stand against them.
Around 6,000 police officers were on standby in major cities on Wednesday evening, after demonstrations had been expected in 41 of the 43 police force areas in England and Wales.
GP surgeries closed early and shops were boarded up over fears of further rioting, but peaceful counter-protesters outnumbered far-right groups in what appeared to be a significant de-escalation of this week’s violence.
The prime minister held two Cobra meetings and an emergency Cabinet meeting this week to co-ordinate a response to the rioting, which began following the killing of three young girls in Southport last week after social media posts falsely claimed the suspect of the Southport stabbing attack was a Muslim immigrant.
Hundreds of people have been arrested after riots linked to the far right rocked major cities including Manchester, Liverpool and Hull, with violent mobs setting fire to hotels housing refugees and clashing with the police.
Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson said Wednesday night’s events were “just the start” of any de-escalation, claiming that “swift justice” has acted as a deterrent for potential rioters.
Asked if she believed the levels of disorder had turned a corner overnight, Dame Diana told Sky News: “I am cautious about what happened last night.
“It’s good that we didn’t see the level of disorder and criminality on our streets that we have in previous days, but obviously this is just the start. There is now further intelligence of events during the next few days, and we need to see what happens there.”
Sir Keir faced criticism from Robert Jenrick last week when reports suggested he had still planned to jet off, with a source close to the Tory leadership frontrunner suggesting the move would be “Nero-esque” – a reference to the Emperor who was said to have fiddled while Rome burned.
Mr Jenrick told GB News it would be “completely wrong for the Prime Minister to holiday while parts of Britain are burning”, adding that the situation needs to be “handled from the very top”.
But at the time, Labour backbencher Chris Webb defended the prime minister, saying he needs to have family time.
The Labour MP for Blackpool South said that deputy prime minister Angela Rayner could step in for Sir Keir, telling LBC: “Every Prime Minister has to have that family time and that break but from what I know of Keir he will be continuing to work and monitor the situation wherever he is on holiday.”
Downing Street has been contacted for comment.
