Some might find him a little boring, but Starmer is a stickler for the rules. His pledge to stand down was a political gamble, but it also drew a genuine dividing line between the former director of public prosecutions and the chaotic, devil-may-care Boris Johnson. How ironic then that the acquittal of the Labor leader comes just as Johnson prepares to retire from politics, leaving behind a legacy of vulgarity and ineptitude. The ‘beergate’ claims were pushed hard by Durham MP Richard Holden and taken up enthusiastically – and relentlessly – by the Daily Mail. The pro-Johnson paper ran a series of increasingly heated front-page stories highlighting discrepancies in Labour’s history – notably the fact that the party initially said Angela Rayner was not at the Durham campaign event. Johnson gleefully seized on the investigation to muddy the waters about his own law-breaking behavior during the pandemic. Responding to Sue Gray’s damning report in the House of Commons, Johnson absurdly called the Labor leader “Sir Bear Corma”. But as Labor belatedly began gathering evidence of events on the night of April 30, 2021, after a day of by-election campaigning in Hartlepool, they became increasingly confident they could show it did not exist, Durham Police told the her statement on Friday, “no way I answer”. Now Starmer is cleared of breaching the lockdown rules, he can wholeheartedly embark on the challenge of trying to bring Labor into the narrative around Johnson’s ignominious exit – and tar all Tories with the same brush. ‘Integrity matters’: Keir Starmer on clearance from Beergate lockdown breach – video Johnson’s departure is, in a sense, a gift to Labor – justifying its focus on the Tory tussle and underscoring the deep divisions in the embattled Conservative party, which will be stark in the upcoming leadership contest. Starmer was widely seen as having performed well at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, underlining the seriousness of the allegations against Chris Pincher as Conservative MPs sat in frustration behind their embattled leader. His description of the ministers rallying to Johnson’s side – the charge of the light brigade – was also one of his best cases. And as Johnson’s premiership collapsed on Thursday after a mass cabinet walkout, Starmer was pictured in the July sunshine watching a tennis match at Wimbledon with his wife, Victoria. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST. But despite his triumphant week, the end of Johnson’s political career is also a double-edged sword for Starmer. Some Labor MPs worry he may not be as good for a new Tory leader – Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak or whoever turns out – as for the chaotic Johnson, against whom Starmer’s seriousness and caution appear to be an advantage . . He will need to act quickly to stamp the dismal state of the economy and public services, as well as Johnson’s legacy of swearing and lies, across the Tory party and his 12 years in power. Next week’s plan for a motion of no confidence in the government is part of that plan: it has little chance of success, but will force Tory MPs to vote for Johnson’s caretaker cabinet – allowing Labor to criticize them for backing him. And with the shadow of ‘beergate’ lifted, Starmer has a crucial few months to present what he stands for and show he can capture the public imagination as the positive alternative to a disintegrating Tory party.
