Keir Starmer is calling on Boris Johnson to scrap his plans for a “vanity yacht” and instead spend the money on tackling antisocial behaviour. Pledging to make Labour “the party of law and order”, Starmer highlighted the blight of antisocial behaviour, such as off-road bikes and high-powered cars being raced through residential neighbourhoods. “As chief prosecutor, I saw far too many examples of crimes perceived as ‘low-level’ not being tackled quickly enough before they escalate,” the Labour leader said. “People can end up afraid in their own homes, or scared to go out at night.” In a sign that Starmer may be heeding the pleas of his MPs for him to attack Johnson more forcefully, he added: “I not only understand deeply why tackling antisocial behaviour is needed, but I’m frustrated by the prime minister’s priorities. His multimillion-pound vanity yacht isn’t addressing people’s everyday concerns. Labour will scrap it and fund crime fighting instead.”
The prime minister’s spokesperson recently announced plans for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to buy a “national flagship”, which could be used to host trade delegations. The decision followed a long-running campaign by Johnson’s former newspaper the Daily Telegraph for taxpayers to fund a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia. While the MoD will be in charge of the procurement process, it is unclear which department will foot the bill. Johnson claimed the vessel would underline the UK’s “burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation”. The yacht is expected to cost up to £200m, and Labour estimates the running costs could be £83m over the course of a parliament – based on updating the cost of running the Britannia to 2021 prices. Starmer said that money could be used to create a £285m enforcement fund, allocated to antisocial behaviour hotspots, to provide surge policing, or fund additional CCTV or extra council enforcement officers. Labour would also legislate to crack down on antisocial driving – by requiring a “black box” to be fixed to high-powered rental cars to ensure they were tracked, for example. The party is keen to highlight its determination to crack down on crime, and underscore the impact of police and local authority cuts under successive Conservative governments. Labour strategists believe crime is one of the policy areas that can unite voters on both sides of its fragile electoral coalition – working-class voters in former industrial “red wall” seats and city-based graduates. Starmer’s rejection of the national yacht plan may stir memories among Labour veterans of Tony Blair’s 1997 stump speeches, when he repeatedly criticised the plans of the then defence secretary, Michael Portillo, for a royal yacht, saying Labour would not waste money on the plan. Then, as now, the Conservatives claimed the vessel would benefit UK trade. Tackling low-level neighbourhood crime was also a recurrent theme for Labour in power, with Blair’s government legislating to create antisocial behaviour orders, or Asbos. Starmer has just hired a veteran of the Blair years, Matthew Doyle, to be his temporary director of communications, as longstanding aide Ben Nunn departs. Labour also confirmed that another close Starmer ally, Jenny Chapman, is moving to a frontbench position in the House of Lords, shadowing the government’s Brexit minister, David Frost. The moves are part of a thorough shake-up of the Labour leader’s backroom operation, with more changes expected to be announced after next week’s Batley and Spen byelection.