Keir Starmer and the fight for Primrose Hill – yet more evidence of the Labour leader’s lack of judgement

Not content, it seems, with alienating red wall voters, Sir Keir Starmer has now infuriated many residents of his Holborn and St Pancras constituency. Oh dear – the Labour leader can hardly afford to lose the support of the metropolitan elite as well.

His problem this time is with a different type of wall. Starmer has given his backing to the installation of large, aluminium barriers around Primrose Hill in north London – where else? – after complaints about antisocial behaviour. The barriers – measuring a formidable 9ft high – were erected on Friday evening in order to keep people out of the park, and could become a regular weekend night-time fixture.

“Primrose Hill is a fantastic green space, boasting one of the best views of the London skyline, and we are very lucky to have it in Camden,” said Starmer, who has consulted with local councillors and the police. “However, serious antisocial behaviour from a selfish minority is taking a terrible toll on the surrounding community.”

His view is not shared by many residents, though, and a petition – “Keep Primrose Hill Open” – has already been signed by more than 500 people. “Closing and gating Primrose Hill is a nuclear and disproportionate solution for a temporary problem that could be managed by more effective policing,” Amy McKeown, one of the locals who started the petition, told The Guardian.

Seventy-year-old Catherine Usiskin added: “It’s just so dispiriting that, without full consultation, a minority of people have managed to effect a pretty radical change. To suddenly walk out and see a locked gate in front of me was shocking last night.”

If you don’t live near Primrose Hill – and I don’t – this might seem like a storm in a teacup. But the story matters for two reasons. First, it illustrates how willing councils (in this instance with the backing of Starmer) are to shut people out of parks. This sets a dangerous precedent. After a year of lockdown, it has never been more vital that everybody has access to green space. Starmer no doubt has a garden; not all of his constituents will.

On occasion, there will of course be friction if residents feel their privacy is being compromised by excessive noise or antisocial behaviour. But the solution, as McKeown points out, is sensitive policing. To erect barriers sends out a clear message that the needs of the few are valued above those of the many.

Second, it proves once again that Starmer lacks political judgement. We witnessed this in his decision to select a Remainer, Paul Williams, to contest the Hartlepool by-election, as well as his sacking and hurried un-sacking of Angela Rayner. Putting up barriers around Primrose Hill was never going to look good for him and he is in grave danger of becoming the face of the decision, and a target for people’s anger, even if his role was minimal. He should have had the foresight to avoid this happening. As former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett said on Sunday: “That [Primrose Hill] should be privatised is unconscionable. That the Labour leader should be backing it is beyond astonishing.”

It’s not too late to reverse this decision, but it needs to happen quickly. Make no mistake, people are deeply unhappy. Starmer would be a fool to make a mountain out of Primrose Hill.

Yours,

Rupert Hawksley

Senior commissioning editor, Voices

This article was amended on May 26 2021. It previously said that Keir Starmer had been pushing for the metals barriers to be erected, but we accept he merely supported their use