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<\/picture><\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nPolitics is waking from its Christmassy slumber.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And I know what you are thinking: never mind all the noise, tell me when the general election is going to be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Well, I would if I could, but I can’t – because we don’t know for sure. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Plenty think the autumn is most likely, but it may be sooner. Or later. It could feel like rather a long year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Every year, at this time of year, political leaders do that ‘casting ahead’ thing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n They try to channel that sentiment some of us entertain for at least a few weeks when the calendar turns from one year to the next – the whole resolutions, fresh start vibe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And when you are an opposition party, and we are in the year of a general election campaign, as we now are, that is a feeling you want to tap into.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Labour leader Keir Starmer is trying to do exactly that with a speech on Thursday in a marginal seat near Bristol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Don’t expect any new policies. There won’t be any. Instead, he is arguing he is taking on two opponents this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Firstly, as you would expect, the Conservatives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And secondly, what he perceives to be a lethargy, a cynicism, an anti-politics mood, that leads many people to conclude no one can make a difference to the big challenges society faces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Predictably, he will say that is not right, because he will claim that he can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He will say voters are “right to be anti-Westminster,” but argue they will have a chance this year to “reject the pointless populist gestures and the low-road cynicism that the Tories believe is all you deserve”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He will attack the Conservatives’ record in power – saying they have “nothing good to show” after 14 years in office, adding: “They can’t change Britain, so they try to undermine the possibility of change itself”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In response, Conservative Party Chairman Richard Holden says Starmer is a “weather vane” who will tell the public “whatever he thinks they want to hear on any given day”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Welcome to 2024. There will be plenty more where this comes from, from all sides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n So what of Rishi Sunak?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The prime minister will also be out and about today, in the East Midlands, visiting a school and a community centre.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He is not giving a speech, but is expected to do a question and answer session with members of the public. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n His team think this is a format in which he is comfortable and convincing – expect to see him doing plenty more of these sessions in the coming months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He wants to talk about tax: the cut to National Insurance announced in the autumn kicks in on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Expect Labour to counter that this tax cut doesn’t make up for all the tax rises.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n And all this after the Liberal Democrats and Reform UK did their new year thing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n If you are one of the smaller parties, commanding attention is 99% of the political challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Lib Dems embrace this reality by throwing subtlety into the sea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Leader Sir Ed Davey turned up in Guildford in Surrey dressed up as a removal man claiming he was a “Tory removal service”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The outfits and the script lines suggest pantomime season isn’t over yet. But being very literal and more than a little over the top can help get a message across.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/span><\/span>PA Media<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n For Reform UK, which used to be called the Brexit Party and was led by one Nigel Farage, they engineered a splash of jeopardy by hinting Mr Farage might turn up to their start of the year news conference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It turned out – unsurprisingly – that he didn’t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Those of us in the basement of a hotel in Westminster heard instead from party leader Richard Tice, with the teased possibility that Nigel Farage might get stuck in nearer polling day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n From their perspective, not playing the Farage card too soon was probably wise. There is, in all likelihood, a reasonable chance there is a fair old way to go until the election campaign itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The opposition parties, as you would expect, are all demanding an election now, or soon – desperate to portray Rishi Sunak as running away from the electorate if he holds off until later in the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But the prime minister has until mid-December to pick a date of his own choosing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It is a vital power, in his hands only, that will shape and define the political year ahead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Is it back to the 1990s for Starmer’s Labour?<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Reform attacks Labour as leader calls for election<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Lib Dem leader launches ‘Tory Removal Service’<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n <\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n Published at Wed, 03 Jan 2024 22:53:58 +0000<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Keir Starmer seeks new year boost before 2024 election Getty Images By Chris Mason, political editor BBC News Politics is waking from its Christmassy slumber. And I know what you are thinking: never mind all the noise, tell me when the general election is going to be. Well, I would if I could, but I… Continue reading Keir Starmer seeks new year boost before 2024 election<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1440,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-politics","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Sunak talks tax <\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
Commanding attention<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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