Taylor Swift Met Police escort news is ‘a piece of nonsense’ – political strategist

We spoke to John McTernan, a political strategist who was Tony Blair’s director of political operations when he was prime minister.

We began by asking if he thinks the latest row over P&O Ferries has been resolved now.

John McTernan: Yes, I do. DP World, the owners of P&O, are going to come to the investment summit. Their investment is going to go ahead. And I suppose it shows you can’t dictate the policies of this Labour government by just threatening to take away your money. I think that’s a good thing. I understand in government you don’t want to have a row with a big investor. But equally, you can’t be seen to bend or sway to their opinions or their feelings.

Ciaran Jenkins: Is it the government’s position that DP World, the owner of P&O Ferries, is a rogue employer or not? Because one part of the government’s been saying that it is and another part of the government’s been saying it isn’t.

John McTernan: It’s bipartisan that P&O were a rogue employer, Grant Shapps was against it when he was transport secretary. The point is will it be able to…

Ciaran Jenkins: That’s not what the business secretary was saying this morning, though, is it? The business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, went on the television and said it’s not the government’s position that DP World is a rogue employer.

John McTernan: The government’s position is clear, that what P&O did in the past will be banned by our legislation. So the question isn’t whether you’re a rogue employer or not a rogue employer, the question is will you obey the laws of the UK and will they favour workers’ rights rather than rogue employers.

Ciaran Jenkins: There’s also been messaging around the VIP escort for Taylor Swift.

John McTernan: This is a piece of nonsense. Can you imagine the headlines if the Metropolitan Police had decided that there was no real threat to Taylor Swift? We know that there are terrorists who will attack fans in arenas, going to watch music, pop music. And so a serious threat had to be dealt with a serious response. As it happened, we had a huge boost to the British economy with Taylor Swift appearing. We had a huge boost to people’s well-being by going to and enjoying the concerts. And we actually protected a visitor for a real threat. We live in an era of geopolitical uncertainty, of genuine threats, genuine terrorist threats, genuine threats to people’s safety, and the duty of the government, the foremost duty of government, is to provide security.

Ciaran Jenkins: Do you think there’s been a clear, strong political narrative supporting Labour’s first 100 days in office?

John McTernan: I do think the red thread that runs through all of those activities has not been clear. The narrative, the framing, ‘we are doing this for these reasons to achieve this outcome’. Ten years of British renewal is what Labour’s elected on, change is what Labour’s elected on. But the story of that change of where Britain will be in four years, five years, ten years, that’s not being spelt out well enough for me.

Ciaran Jenkins: Why do you think it is that Labour haven’t communicated as well as you’d have liked in this first hundred days? It’s as if they didn’t have enough time to plan, is it?

John McTernan: In a way they didn’t have enough time to plan because this election was earlier than I expected to be. I thought it would be a November election, December election, I thought that in that sense…

Ciaran Jenkins: They still had time. Sir Keir Starmer was calling for an election for a long time, and if he was serious about it, you’d expect he’d have a plan.

John McTernan: Labour’s manifesto was ready in May this year. Labour was ready to fight on a programme, a platform, of change. That was clear. Governments make missteps when they come in from opposition. It’s so different to be a government than be an opposition. The question is, is Labour, this time, going to learn from what they did as Labour did last time? I believe they will. I do think politics needs to be at the heart of Number Ten. I think that’s back now.