DAILY MAIL COMMENT: How much has Labour truly changed?

There is little doubt Sir Keir Starmer has changed Labour since becoming its leader.

He has wrestled it from the clutches of the hard-Left, cast out Jeremy Corbyn and tackled the cancer of anti-Semitism with some success. From being an unelectable rabble, the party now stands on the brink of winning power with a colossal majority.

In an interview with the Mail today, Sir Keir seeks to persuade readers they have nothing to fear from a Labour government.

Having spent the past four years dragging his party towards the centre ground, he says, he will not abruptly lurch back to the Left.

But the question is, just how much has Labour truly changed, and, crucially, changed to what?

There is little doubt Sir Keir Starmer has changed Labour since becoming its leader

In an interview with the Mail today, Sir Keir seeks to persuade readers they have nothing to fear from a Labour government

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves seems to understand the importance of being pro-growth, business and wealth

There is too much we do not know about the party's plans to fully trust them, and too much of the old class-based spite to be confident it has completely altered.

Yes, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves seems to understand the importance of being pro-growth, business and wealth.

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Keir Starmer admits Mail readers were RIGHT about Labour in 2019... that's why we changed, he says

But Labour's silence on the extra taxes it will have to raise to plug a clear fiscal shortfall grows ever more deafening. Sir Keir won't even rule out fresh taxes on pensioners.

The party remains obsessed with appeasing every demand of the tiny trans lobby, even to the detriment of the majority of biological women and girls. Meanwhile, its proposals to control immigration are risible and it wants to realign with the EU.

This starkly illustrates exactly what a Labour victory would mean for the UK.

There is precious little enthusiasm for either main party, yet somehow Labour is set to win a landslide. If Reform splits the Tory vote, a 'supermajority' is almost assured.

Yes, Sir Keir has changed Labour – but surely a man who, just five years ago, believed Mr Corbyn was the best man to be PM should not be handed unbridled power.

A complex case

The Julian Assange case raises difficult and complex questions about the limits of free expression in a liberal society.

Even the most open democracies have laws to protect their state secrets and harsh punishments for those who breach them.

So America's pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder for publishing hundreds of thousands of confidential documents and videos is unsurprising.

Stolen and leaked by a former US army intelligence analyst, the data covered everything from covert operations in Iraq to highly sensitive diplomatic cables.

The Julian Assange (pictured in the Northern Mariana Islands on Friday) case raises difficult and complex questions about the limits of free expression in a liberal society

In his defence, Assange argues they also revealed proof of civilian killings by the US military

To his supporters (pictured), Assange is a free speech martyr. To his critics, he is a reckless and dangerous attention seeker. The truth probably lies somewhere in between

According to the US government, they endangered not only international relationships but also the lives of agents working undercover abroad. In his defence, Assange argues they also revealed proof of civilian killings by the US military.

However, little attempt was made by WikiLeaks to protect the safety of compromised individuals. It was simply dumped on the internet for all to see.

To his supporters, Assange is a free speech martyr. To his critics, he is a reckless and dangerous attention seeker. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.

For 14 years, he has been trying to avoid being extradited to the US where he would face life in prison. For the past five, he has been on remand in Belmarsh prison.

A bargain has now been reached, whereby he pleads guilty to a single charge of espionage in return for a sentence of 62 months. As that is exactly the time he has been incarcerated, he would immediately be free to return to his native Australia.

It is a pragmatic compromise to a case which has dragged on for so long.