How did Keir Starmer’s speech go down, and how are Labour doing in Selby and Uxbridge?

Let’s start with some good news that splashes The Yorkshire Post – a pretty jaw-dropping, 12-point lead for Labour in Selby and Ainsty in a new poll. Remember the Tories have a 20,137-vote majority from 2019.

More cheer too from the latest polling by Techne UK, which has a 21-point Labour lead nationally today, while YouGov/The Times have it at 25 points.

Reactions to Starmer’s ‘opportunity’ speech

In other good news, Starmer’s speech yesterday on Labour’s opportunity mission seems to have been fairly well-received by the pundits at least (read the full speech here; watch it here; Labour’s briefing here).

Writing for LabourList, ex-Tes deputy editor and Public First director Ed Dorrell calls it “election-winning stuff”, noting Starmer both tapped “aspiration” and recast it to include ambition for communities rather than just individuals.

The i’s Paul Waugh called it “possibly his best crafted speech to date“, letting him link a social mobility push to his working-class upbringing in contrast with Sunak’s. New analysis by The Economist suggests a Starmer cabinet, pre-reshuffle at least, would be the most state-educated since Attlee’s, bolstering the point.

More than 100 actors, artists and authors praised a pledge to mandate studying a creative subject up to 16. Talk of shattering the “class ceiling” notched up headlines too, with The Guardian’s Polly Toynbee noting he had “finally used the C-word” in a way Tony Blair was once wary of.

Starmer’s speech included promising new primary funding to help children “find their voice” through a focus on speaking and listening, more health visitors and mental health support for new parents, working with councils to boost childcare capacity, and a vow to ensure more children meet early language targets.

For the Independent‘s John Rentoul, Starmer’s focus on oracy is welcome, but too much of his speech was “cliche and waffle”.

And in this author’s humble opinion as a former education reporter, the most notable thing was what wasn’t there – no mention of even the smallest of tweaks to academies, for instance, the Tories’ biggest schooling reform, and far less detail and radicalism on childcare so far than might be expected.

Labour leader interrupted by protestors

Two young people stood behind Starmer also generated headlines by heckling unfurling a “no more U-turns. Green new deal” banner, briefly unsettling the opposition leader.

The main problem for Starmer though was that as Toynbee politely put it, Labour’s agenda so far “doesn’t herald the shattering of class as we know it”, and it’s no easy task. Heads’ union NAHT warned Labour needs “significant additional investment” to back welcome ambitions, something Momentum also called the “elephant in the room”.

Starmer faced a grilling from journalists about why he wasn’t promising more to fix crumbling buildings of backing a 6.5% pay rise for teachers, which government advisers are expected to recommend.

UCU attacked him for choosing to “undermine” university lecturers striking, after Starmer said he was “uncomfortable” with it. The Mirror praised an “important and welcome speech”, but called Starmer’s refusal to back universal primary free school meals “disappointing”.

Fraser Nelson sounded a little Corbynite in the Telegraph, saying there was “nothing there” behind Labour’s reformist rhetoric, though he also suggested three “ideologically light” election campaigns by Blair still notched up three landslide victories. And Ofsted’s chief Amanda Spielman dubbed proposed annual safeguarding reviews of every school “expensive and complicated“.

ULEZ debate sets Khan against candidate

Starmer also had to hang on for dear life to the fence to avoid condemning either London mayor Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone plans or Uxbridge and South Ruislip candidate Danny Beales’ call for ULEZ expansion to be delayed.

The Daily Mail duly hammered him for refusing “six times” to be drawn, with Starmer doing his best to note Khan’s duty to tackle air pollution and Beales’ to represent potential constituents.

Some four in 10 voters in the by-election seat said opposing ULEZ was a top-three issue swaying their vote in a new Evening Standard/JL Partners poll, chiming with LabourList experience on the doorstep, though it still had Labour eight points ahead and 59% of voters cited living costs as a key concern.

Elsewhere, Labour’s not going to win friends on Fleet Street after apparently signalling it’s happy to make many publishers fund complainants’ legal bills even if they win. And finally, you can find canvassing sessions this weekend in by-election seats here. Have a good one.