Do not be fooled by the rhetoric or the chummy image of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer laughing and joking with one another on their way to the Lords to hear Charles III deliver his first King’s speech.
This was all about trying to ensure that this particular King’s speech was not Rishi Sunak’s last as Prime Minister.
There was a lot about “long-term decisions for a brighter future” but in reality, it was short-term traps set for the next year’s general election.
Essentially, Mr Sunak has given up on the whole vision thing and trying to set out what the country will be like with him in charge long term.
Instead, he has focussed on challenging Sir Keir to see if he will match him on various commitments he intends to put in place over the next 12 months.
Here are the traps that Starmer will struggle to avoid:
Brexit
There is no doubt from what he has said that Starmer wants to start the process of rejoining long term by shadowing EU regulation and even tying Britain into EU military structures.
However, the passing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal with 11 other nations, as well as the intention to have a number of other trade deals in place including with India will make life difficult for Starmer in this respect.
Labour would have to make a difficult decision on pulling back from those new agreements and making the UK less competitive as it becomes subject to EU laws.
Alternatively, he could admit defeat and abandon Remainer ideology and go ahead with the Brexit agreements.
Strikes
Somewhat delayed but much-needed legislation to guarantee minimum service levels especially in the NHS but probably on public transport too will be pushed through by Sunak.
This will create clear blue water between the Tories and Labour.
Starmer will be forced to say whether he continues to agree with unions being able to hold hospitals and people’s health to ransom as has happened over the last year or infuriate his union paymasters by not changing the legislation.
Net zero
Sunak has not exactly abandoned net zero ideology but he has severely watered down the measures in line with how a majority of voters feel.
The Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election turning into a referendum on Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ expansion and green taxes in general was a wake-up call for Sunak and Starmer.
But by postponing the ban on new diesel and petrol cars to 2035, promising to allow new oil and gas licences each year to ensure cheaper energy supply and greater energy security; Sunak has laid down the gauntlet.
Starmer has made clear he wants to push hard on net zero measures and his Deputy Angela Rayner suggested ULEZ could be coming to each town and city across the UK.
Labour will now have to justify the cost to households and businesses across the country with the Tories setting out a more pragmatic alternative.
Anti-Semitism and Israel
Mindful of what is going on in Israel and the demonstrations on London’s streets from pro-Palestinian often pro-Hamas terrorist groups, Mr Sunak made a point of tackling these issues in the King’s speech.
While Sir Keir is currently on board with the Prime Minister his party is in full revolt demanding he backs a ceasefire which would help Hamas regroup, rearm and commit new atrocities.
The issue, and the anti-Semitism that Corbyn’s leadership exposed in Labour threatens to tear Starmer’s party apart while the Tories remain almost entirely united.
Criminal justice
Mr Sunak’s plans to make life sentences mean life sentences and force offenders to hear their sentencing in court in the wake of the Lucy Letby trial of the nurse who killed babies is potentially a vote winner.
Lawyers and those involved with the justice system have questioned whether it will work, issues that Sir Keir as the former Director of Public Prosecutions will only be too aware of.
However, does the Labour leader want to look as though he is going to go soft on rapists and murderers when it comes to an election?
He may please his student party membership by doing that but it is not a formula to win back the red wall seats in the north and midlands.
Illegal migration
The King’s Speech’s biggest dividing line is the war on illegal immigration and the small boats.
Sunak knows that getting this issue sorted will help him win back power, especially in those Red Wall seats.
But there has not been much let up in the small boats coming over so the next best thing is to highlight how bad it would be with Labour.
Sunak and his Home Secretary Suella Braverman clearly intend to push hard with the Rwanda deportations and other measures to get this issue sorted once and for all.
Meanwhile, Labour is talking about taking even more illegal migrants by joining an EU quota system.
There was also a hint that the human rights legislation could be looked at again in the King’s Speech.
If this is not the biggest elephant trap of them all for Starmer to walk right into then nothing is.
