Christopher Hope analysis: Starmer needs to show he understands WHY immigration is a key issue for so many
Christopher Hope is GB News political editor and has given his verdict on Starmer's management of a divided Britain
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Peace has thankfully returned to our streets after over week of rioting following the horrific killings in Southport, suggesting that - at the time of writing - Sir Keir Starmer has passed the first big political test of his premiership.
Being in power is as much about how to respond to events assailing a Government as much as the policies which are implemented.
Starmer has used his experience as Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that swift justice against those involved in the riots will have consequences.
Don't forget Starmer was DPP in 2011, the last comparable riots in England. Then courts ran 24/7 to process cases. This time it has not been necessary - there have been only a sixth of the arrests in 2011.But the Government, courts and police appear to have acted successfully together to demonstrate the consequences for those involved in the rioting.
This has seen people jailed days after the rioting by courts - startlingly fast, given the often glacial progress of court cases. Starmer has reinforced the message by repeating that the courts and police will not tolerate thuggery.
But this is only half the story.
For me Labour's political response to the rioting and demonstrations has been less sure-footed.
Starmer's initial response to blame the "far right" infuriated many GB News viewers and readers, who felt that the criticism suggested that a concern about immigration was being lumped together with those of far right thugs.
It failed to grasp that concern about legal and illegal immigration, which did so much to drive support towards Nigel Farage's Reform UK party at the last general election, is not a far right issue.
As long as the peace holds in our towns and cities, attention is going to move increasingly to the causes of the demonstrations, and why immigration is such a flashpoint in so many of our communities.
That will present Starmer - who has been Prime Minister for just five weeks, don't forget - with a far greater challenge then processing and cracking down on violent thugs.
The Prime Minister will have to demonstrate he understands why immigration concerns so many communities, and show that he is willing to take the necessary action to take control of our borders.
The Conservatives singularly failed to do this in their 14 years in power. If Starmer can succeed where they failed, it will be a significant political achievement, as great as successfully returning calm to our streets this week after days of rioting.
