Starmer and Swift: ‘Are we getting sucked in by the right-leaning media?’
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Five weeks on, Keir Starmer meeting Taylor Swift is still front page news – but are we just falling for right-wing media narrative, and does it have a whiff of misogyny to it?
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In brief…
- British newspapers and news outlets are once again reporting on the Prime Minister meeting Taylor Swift at a London concert and the police security she was offered while in the capital.
- The News Agents say this is an attempt to “keep the freebie-gate story going”, despite credible threats to Taylor Swift’s safety as she toured the world.
- Meeting world leaders and important names from the world of culture and arts is “what Prime Ministers do”, and Taylor Swift may well be “he most influential woman in the world”.
What's the story?
Taylor Swift and Keir Starmer are back on the front pages as No 10 confirms the PM met Swift backstage at her Wembley concert in August, days after permission was granted for her to have a “blue light” escort whilst touring in the UK.
Earlier this month, Starmer, caught up in the ‘freebie-gate’ scandal, paid back £6,000 worth of gifts he'd accepted, including tickets to see Taylor Swift at Wembley stadium.
Keir Starmer said the tickets were nothing to do with the police escort that was offered to the US superstar while she was in London, and were simply a gift from her record label, Universal Music.
“How it was that she got blue flashing lights taking her to and from Wembley Stadium, I don't know, but it's all been tied into the whole sort of freebie-gate narrative,” Jon Sopel says on the latest episode of The News Agents.
Swift’s London concerts took place in June and August 2024, and in between her two visits she was forced to cancel a show in Vienna due to a credible terrorist threat to her and the lives of thousands of her fans.Jon Sopel says it is understandable, therefore, that there was a concern over security.
Also in that period were the Southport stabbings, where three young girls were murdered at a Taylor Swift dance class.
Starmer’s meeting with the global popstar and her mother reportedly lasted for 10 minutes and the conversation focussed on the stabbings that had taken place in Southport at a Taylor Swift themed holiday club.
“It was the only thing that was discussed and presumably it was a chat of commiseration or horror,” says Emily Maitlis.
'Taylor Swift probably has as much sway as a head of state'
Is there reason to be annoyed at Starmer meeting Swift?
“Are people genuinely feeling that Keir Starmer is just more of the same,” asks Emily.
“That he has let them down, that this is not a good look for a brand new Labour Prime Minister, or are we slightly getting sucked into a right-leaning media press narrative?”
The Taylor Swift police details emerged shortly after it was revealed Starmer had clothes and glasses bought for him by a party donor, and tied in nicely to the front-page stories attacking the then-new PM.
“It's like the media have tried to find the latest hook to keep the freebie-gate story going, and that somehow him meeting a pop singer is part of the freebie gate,” says Jon.
“Is the suggestion that because he'd met her backstage weeks later, he arranged that as a payback? It just gets preposterous.”
What’s The News Agents’ take?
Taylor Swift, and the worldwide phenomenon she has become for fans, has often been compared to The Beatles and 'Beatlemania' in the 1960s. Guess who else had police escorts when they were at the height of their fame? That's right, The Beatles.
"Keir Starmer taking £32,000 quids worth of clothes was a something-burger. Him meeting Taylor Swift is a nothing-burger," Jon adds.
But that “nothing-burger” has now been front-page news for five weeks.
“One of the things that we have to do is step away from this idea that Taylor Swift is not as powerful as she actually is, and probably is a terrorist threat,” Emily says.
“Her following, her audiences, her crowd, her influence – it's the equivalent of being a head of state.”
Emily adds Starmer meeting Swift is no different to if he were to meet figures like Bill Gates or Elon Musk on a visit to the UK.
“I wonder whether there's also this edge of misogyny,” she adds.
“Honestly, she isn't just a pop star. She's probably the most influential woman in the world.
“I think it'd be slightly odd if your Prime Minister wasn't actually encountering the person who was coming to do their tour at Wembley and generating billions and billions for the economy as she was doing it, right?”
Jon says it wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for Swift to have been invited to Downing Street for a cup of tea.
"That is what Prime Ministers do," he says.
"They meet with world leaders. They meet with leading figures from culture and arts."
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