2025 has kicked off to a busy start in the UK. Under fire from Elon Musk, the Labour government is losing the PR battle over the grooming gangs scandal. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in particular, is facing a lot of backlash. Much of the scandal involves his inaction as a prosecutor before his entry into politics. Obviously, the topic itself is tragic and the cover-up reprehensible. The various political strategies at play are worth analyzing, though, along with potential avenues forward for each side.
A brief recap
On New Year’s Eve, Elon Musk shared posts on X about the grooming gangs, taking a hardline stance against officials involved. The next day, he continued his coverage, attacking the Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips, for opposing requests for a national inquiry into historical child exploitation. Phillips claimed a local inquiry would be more appropriate, despite allegations coming from around the country.
Conservative MPs joined calls for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. Musk continued his attacks. He accused Starmer of being “complicit” in the scandal and labelled Phillips as a “rape genocide apologist”. Reform leader, Nigel Farage, called for an investigation into Starmer’s role as prosecutor in the matter. Earlier this week, criticism mounted against an Independent Inquiry from 2022 for not properly investigating the grooming gangs. On Wednesday, the Labour majority in the House of Commons defeated a move to force a new inquiry. The grooming gangs scandal continues with no sign of resolution.
Analyzing the grooming gangs scandal
There are three key parties to the conflict:
- Elon Musk: an outsider voicing personal opinions and leveraging his influence
- Labour: the government led by Keir Starmer (formerly the prosecutor implicated in the scandal) and including Jess Phillips (Safeguarding Minister who rejected calls for a national inquiry).
- Opposition: Conservative and Reform Parties whose mass-migration skepticism bona fides give credence to their position on the scandal.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk has increasingly embraced political discourse around the world through his X account. While comments supporting Conor McGregor appear to be mere opposition to the Irish establishment, he has ventured deeper in other countries. Enmeshing himself in Trump’s campaign last year, he now finds himself a key advisor to both the transition team and the incoming administration. Yesterday, he hosted a sit-down on X with the leader of the AfD in Germany. In recent weeks, he has also voiced his support for Reform UK. It is no surprise, then, that he would comment on reports that the UK government sought to cover up the grooming gang scandal in order to avoid criticism for its favorable stance towards mass-migration into the country. A staunch advocate for free speech, Musk is likely to keep amplifying reports of egregious government overreach. As a private citizen, he is not legally obligated to ensure 100% accuracy in his tweets, no matter how prudent it may be given his extensive influence.
Labour
From a strategic perspective, Labour’s handling of the grooming gangs scandal has been egregious. This is an emotive topic which needs to be handled with compassion and understanding. Instead, Labour has opted for a technicality. They oppose a national inquiry because a local inquiry would, apparently, be more effective. What the party misses here is that the public wants to see decisive action in response to the reports. What Labour is giving them is opposition and a focus on technicalities. In fact, in this situation, it would benefit Labour to endorse a less effective solution that was immediate than to delay action pending the perfect solution. Additionally, Jess Phillips has leaned into positioning as a feminist hero standing up to the bullying tactics of a ‘straight white male’. Obviously, this positioning is pretty flimsy given the scandal centers on the systematic rape of young girls. But this is not where Labour’s inauthenticity ends. Starmer and Phillips did nothing on the issue when it first came across their respective desks. Furthermore, Starmer has appeared numerous times over the last year with Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to oppose Islamophobia. In a campaign video last June, the pair agreed, in effect, that Muslims deserved total immunity precisely because they are Muslim. Evidently, Starmer has an uphill battle to convince the public that he is sincere in his desire to resolve the grooming gangs scandal.
Opposition
In opposition, the Tories and Reform are having a field day. Fresh in the driving seat in the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch is taking the opportunity to hammer Labour and present her party as the better party after all. Reform’s Farage is leaning into his views on immigration, assimilation, and general pro-Britain policies that have underpinned his political career. Labour is weak and has lost the public confidence. No doubt polling will swing to the right as a result of this scandal.
The path forward: end the grooming gangs scandal
In terms of strategic next steps, Labour is the only party that needs to change course. Musk is free to continue commenting on any issue around the world. The Tories and Reform are dominating the public goodwill by fighting on the right side of this issue. Labour, on the other hand, needs to change direction. Swift action to take down the grooming gangs is the only way forward. Of course, it happens to be the right thing to do morally, but more relevant is the domestic and international perception. Further, by coming down hard on child exploitation, it will make it easier for Labour to combat Islamophobia. Child exploitation is wrong no matter who does it. It is, in fact, Labour’s messaging that links the issue with Islam at all. A targeted focus on crime would not only win back support that drifted to Farage last year, it would do wonders for Labour’s pro-immigration policies if it sent a strong message. “We welcome everyone – ifyou follow our laws”.
