There was a time where Sir Keir Starmer seemed a brilliant politician. He won the Labour leadership, saw off multiple Tory leaders and then secured a landslide victory. This is what he and his allies had told us was important. The former head of the CPS was sick of Labour being the party of protest, and winning would allow him to deliver the change he believed in. It has not quite turned out that way, not least because what he believes in is so subject to change. Scrapping tuition fees, ending the two-child limit, nationalisation of basically everything, defending freedom of movement, and £28 billion a year into the green economy. All of these pledges from the leadership campaign have gone, and to an extent, it can be understood. The economy was worse than expected, and more importantly to the political element of it, the only people really following leadership pledges are journalists and party members. For the public, it doesn’t matter. Those U-turns showed a certain flexibility in terms of principles, but that can also be seen as pragmatism in government. However, this week’s new approach to immigration is not that. This isn’t adapting to the politics of a wider electorate, it is not aspiring to do more when circumstances change. It is the politics of reaction, seeing the Reform sweep of the local elections and deciding to pander rather than lead. The Labour leader talked of an “island of strangers” in his speech on Monday, and if that wasn’t clear enough has begun posting like a vigilante, something that doesn’t really land when you read them in his voice. “If you’re one of the smugglers putting people in small boats across the channel,” read the Prime Minister’s account on X, “we’re coming after you”. This is a problem for many reasons. Firstly and briefly, changing the immigration rules is a disaster for the health service, the education sector, and many others that rely on people coming to Britain. It’s also, though this isn’t quite as quantifiable, not a very nice thing to do. Then there are the political ramifications. By claiming that immigrants are a burden on public services and housing, Starmer is saying what Nigel Farage has done for years. He is validating a viewpoint that progressives have always railed against. When push comes to shove, who are those people who believe immigration is too high going to vote for? The guy who’s been saying it forever, or the establishment figure who has changed his mind after a battering. Downing Street is understood to be delighted with the speech, believing they’ve reseized the narrative, and made the first step in defeating Farage. In reality, they’ve given him the stamp of approval, and opened the door a little wider for the next election. This isn’t just my view, it’s reflected in the polling. Starmer’s popularity has now fallen to an all-time low, going from 62 per cent to 45 per cent in just one month. It is also the first time that he has recorded a net negative approval rating among Labour supporters. You can do nothing in opposition, they cried, which is true. Labour didn't campaign on cutting international aid, welfare reforms, and restrictions on immigration. Voters don’t like it, and they don’t believe him any more.