In a move that reeks of political cowardice and self-preservation, Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has executed a brazen U-turn on a national inquiry into the UK’s grooming gang scandal. This long-overdue investigation, which Starmer once dismissed as a “far-right bandwagon,” now has his reluctant blessing—though not without strings attached. The Labour leader’s volte-face, forced by public pressure and mounting outrage, exposes a party rotten with hypocrisy, terrified of the truth, and desperate to shield its own complicity.
Just months ago, in January 2025, Starmer and his Labour MPs stood united in their contempt for justice, voting 364 to 111 against a national inquiry into the systematic rape and trafficking of thousands of young, mostly working-class girls by organised gangs. The victims, preyed upon in towns like Rotherham, Telford, and Rochdale, were dismissed as collateral damage in Labour’s quest to protect its political image. Starmer himself sneered at calls for accountability, branding advocates—including survivors and their families—as far-right extremists jumping on a populist cause. This wasn’t just a misjudgment; it was a deliberate smear to silence those demanding answers.
Now, with the tide of public anger swelling and figures like Elon Musk amplifying the issue, Starmer has been dragged kicking and screaming into supporting the inquiry. But don’t be fooled by his newfound moral posturing. The Labour leader’s sudden conversion is less about justice and more about damage control. The establishment, of which Labour is a core pillar, is petrified of what a full inquiry might uncover: decades of institutional failure, political cover-ups, and a culture of turning a blind eye to protect community cohesion—or, more cynically, Labour’s voter base.
The hypocrisy doesn’t end with Starmer. Labour bigwigs like Sadiq Khan and Jess Phillips, who have long postured as champions of justice, are now conveniently silent or worse, rewriting history. Phillips, for instance, recently claimed Labour “will not hesitate” to pursue local inquiries, despite having voted against a national one earlier this year. Other MPs, like Keighley’s John Grogan, representing towns scarred by these atrocities, also toed the party line and voted against the inquiry, only to now feign support as the political winds shift. These are not principled leaders but opportunistic chameleons, scrambling to save face while their party’s moral bankruptcy is laid bare.
The establishment’s fear is palpable. A national inquiry, if truly independent, could expose not just local council failures but the complicity of national figures—potentially including Labour luminaries—who ignored or downplayed the scandal for years. Starmer, a former Director of Public Prosecutions, knows better than most how deep the rot goes. His tenure saw countless cases mishandled, with victims’ cries ignored in favour of bureaucratic inertia. Now, as Prime Minister, he’s manoeuvring to limit the inquiry’s scope and delay its start, ensuring it remains a toothless exercise that protects Labour’s reputation. Reports suggest the government is already pivoting toward “more than five” local inquiries—a classic tactic to fragment the truth and bury systemic failures under a patchwork of half-measures.
Starmer’s defenders might argue he’s acting pragmatically, balancing justice with political realities. But this is no time for pragmatism—it’s time for courage. The victims, some as young as 11, endured unspeakable horrors while authorities, often under Labour-controlled councils, looked the other way. To now delay or dilute the inquiry is to spit in their faces. Starmer’s claim that it’s “the right thing to do” rings hollow when his party spent years obstructing it, only relenting under pressure from the very “far-right” voices he vilified.
The Labour Party’s U-turn is not a victory for justice but a desperate bid to cling to power. Starmer, Khan, Phillips, and their ilk have shown their true colours: they’ll back an inquiry only when the cost of resistance outweighs the cost of exposure. Even now, they’re plotting to neuter it, hoping to shield their party from the fallout. But the truth has a way of breaking free. The victims deserve better than Labour’s cynical games—they deserve an unsparing, national reckoning. Anything less is a betrayal, and Starmer’s legacy will be forever stained by it.
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