Attorney General: ‘I sleep soundly at night knowing Keir is PM’

I was delighted to attend the Jewish Labour Movement conference, that saw prominent position holders within the Labour Party arrive in London to deliver messages of hope, support and acknowledgment of a need to do more to combat growing rates of antisemitism.

The first talk that I attended was a conversational interview, between Keir Starmer biographer, Tom Baldwin, and Attorney General, Lord Richard Hermer KC.

On leaving the discussion, I contacted my editorial team to tell them just how personally impressed I was with the nature to which Lord Hermer answered questions – to the point I got a little over-enthusiastic, perhaps broke the professional exterior I try to present at such events and rushed to shake the Attorney General’s hand to tell him how in awe I was. I know, not exactly cool, fly-on-the-wall style journalism but, I honestly could not help it.

Captivated

While listening to Hermer speak, I realised that he had managed to connect directly to the Labour member in me, as opposed to the journalist there who initially attended solely to cover his responses for editorial purposes. I was captivated, not because I had to be, but because his answers prompted me to be.

This was as much to do with the language he chose as it was with the passion and tone that so clearly shone through in his answers. Responses to questions were simple, effective and achieved complete clarity whilst not needing to peddle a single one of the same government lines we have all become so tired of hearing repeated over the last (almost) eighteen months. Hermer managed to talk positively about the government in a way that, I felt, showed he really believed it.

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Following an introduction that revolved around references to the right wing media’s numerous nicknames for Hermer (with the obvious highlight being ‘the Herminator’) to begin his conversation, Baldwin asked the Attorney General about his written response to the horrific attacks in Heaton park last year, noting the emotion that shone through in his reaction. Baldwin asked how important Hermer felt bringing strong emotion to his role was, to which the Attorney General replied with a thoughtful answer on how his experience as a Jewish man is something he does not try to separate from his position, saying “I do bring…my whole Jewish experience to cabinet”.

This led to a considered discussion about Hermer’s own experiences of antisemitism, explaining how he could remember facing it from a teacher, before going on to say that the issues the Labour Party had dealt with internally in regard to antisemitism were not just present under former leader Jeremy Corbyn. He went on to say how Keir Starmer had made this one of his “defining projects” to deal with as Labour leader, noting that he has managed to succeed in “turning the party around” in quite a short space of time when dealing with antisemitism across the Labour Party. Baldwin asked on this point, “is it fixed?” to which Hermer replied we can “never be complacent” when dealing with antisemitism.

‘I fell in love with human rights’

The conversation turned towards the nature of online hatred and the role social media plays within that. Hermer said we face a choice between a tolerant society or one of division. For those hoping for the former, we face a decision on whether to “accept defeat” or “double down” with the Attorney General, of course, advocating for the latter. Naturally, with the discussion now on tolerance, Hermer moved into talking about human rights and the European Convention.

“I fell in love with human rights,” he said, taking a trip down memory lane as to the journey he had been on to finding his passion, arguing that what it provides us with is “absolutely worth fighting for”. Baldwin used this to make the comparison with the Prime Minister, another man we understand to have a passion for human rights, before suggesting that it has left some colleagues in Parliament “puzzled” as to why the government may be seeking to make certain changes to the ECHR.

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Lord Hermer was clear: “We’re not seeking to make changes to the ECHR,” and “we will not be leaving [the ECHR]”, rather the government is engaging with the Council of Europe on how to ensure it stays relevant, also stating that we need to “coordinate” with other European countries if the UK wishes to deal with issues around irregular migration. Hermer’s defence of the ECHR was unwavering, saying it offered “real rights for real people”, before listing things like the recent introduction of Hillsborough Law or parents fighting for SEND support, as only possible due to the protections delivered by human rights articles.

Not bogged down

Lord Hermer’s friendship with the Prime Minister was one of the latter talking points in the discussion. The Attorney General said of Starmer that he is “the most resilient person I have ever met” and “I sleep soundly at night knowing Keir is PM,” as a result. When asked about leadership speculation, Hermer replied that he was “absolutely convinced” Labour would win the next election and Keir Starmer would remain leader. He explained that he believed the country had elected Labour to move on from “the farce” of internal Conservative politics that saw several leadership changes and warned Labour should not get bogged down by the same issues.

Hermer began to conclude his discussion by choosing to tackle the challenges to this Labour government head on. He accepted that delivery of the changes promised were yet to land with the public, but was convinced this would not last forever due to the decisions taken already in government. He then approached the lack of narrative issue that we all too often hear about from Starmer’s critics.

Everybody deserves dignity

Hermer explained that in this government, there are two aspects to what they believe in. The first is a “fundamental belief in human dignity” and the second is that government is important to enable that dignity. To do this, the government has to achieve long term structural change, with the purpose of any changes all about providing dignity to the people. He listed home building, renters rights, employment rights and improved crime statistics as approaches to policy that seek to deliver dignity and security to all.

He explained that this could never be a quick fix, but the aim is for fundamental change, not surface level, immediate problem solving.

“If you ask me what Starmerism is, its that everybody deserves dignity and a fair crack of the whip,” Hermer told the audience and called what the government is pursuing for the country as a “package to be proud of”.

As the Attorney General and his interviewer Baldwin wrapped up their discussion, I couldn’t help but join in with more enthusiasm than I would usually give, as the conference hall began its applause.

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I was left with a clear sense of hope for the government moving forward. That hope, is that more of them can take a leaf out of the Lord Hermer’s book, when on the media rounds, or interacting with the public. Speak from the heart. Use language authentic to you. Tell the story to show you believe it, instead of regurgitating the same focus-group approved words.

If we start to see more members of this cabinet leading with feeling as they engage with the public, then maybe we will begin to observe the turn Labour members so desperately desire, in the fortunes of Keir Starmer’s government.

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