The most revealing line today was not the promise to ban TikTok, Snapchat and the rest for under‑16s – it was the pledge to “act swiftly” and get legislation through by Christmas, with the full ban kicking in 2027.
Starmer is front‑loading the announcement and back‑loading the consequences, because he knows there is a serious chance he will not be in Downing Street when parents start asking why homework apps, youth clubs and online communities have been collateral damage of his vanity project.
When a leader governs on the assumption that somebody else will have to live with his decisions, he has already mentally left office.