Starmer's Last Hurrah?

Let's start with, uh, with Keir Starmer.

It's an extraordinary week ahead for him.

It could end with Andy Burnham taking a seat in Parliament, triggering a leadership contest.

This morning, Keir Starmer announced a full ban on social media for under 16.

He gave a press conference about that this morning.

Every parent can see it with their own eyes.

Social media is making children unhappy.

It's making it easier for bullies to harass and abuse them, and it could even be harming their mental health, exposing them to content that is dangerous because that's what grabs the attention.

It's designed to be addictive.

Janice, uh, look, we'll come to what this all means for Keir Starmer himself in a moment.

But first, on the subject of a social media ban itself, is your-- are your thoughts good and about time, or this might be a bit of a mess?

I think it's about time that parents had a bit of assistance in dealing with this, the issue of social media.

You know, I, I was a-- my kids are now in their late twenties, so I didn't have to deal with this.

But I think it would be incredibly hard to, to, to kind of navigate this landscape, um, without some sort of government controls.

And I think it's really about time, and it's about the least the government can do, to be honest.

Jack, do you have any concerns on this?

Uh, not particularly.

Good.

I mean, I'm sure, I'm sure it won't, I, I'm sure it won't be as effective as some people hope.

There will be workarounds, some.

But, um, essentially what we're advocating is for a return to 2005.

Um, and I don't think that's all that controversial.

Um, there are plainly hu-- there's been a Wild West.

Companies have been well aware that this is addictive, and it's something which can generate an awful lot of profit for them.

Um, uh, there has not been sufficient action from social media companies to protect children, and I think instituting a ban, uh, will change the landscape in favor of the parents.