What went unsuitable for Keir Starmer, and what he must do subsequent
Booting out a Conservative party stained by austerity, Liz Truss and partygate, the incoming-PM promised change and to give hope to voters disgusted with what had come before
The PM has made a series of high-profile mistakes(Image: Carl Court/PA Wire)
In July 2024 Keir Starmer swept into Downing Street with a historic majority, ending 14 long years of Tory rule.
Booting out a Conservative party stained by austerity, Liz Truss and partygate, the incoming-PM promised change and to give hope to voters disgusted with what had come before.
Instead, Mr Starmer has endured two difficult years, with a series of high profile and often avoidable mistakes that have done great damage to him and the party. Through rows about freebies, to resignations and U-turns, it has been anything but quiet.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer promises to offer more ‘hope’ after bruising election results
What went wrong
Planned cuts to make the winter fuel allowance enraged pensioners, and would have left nearly 10 million older people missing out. The Chancellor cited the £22billion ‘black hole’ left by the Tories, but that did little to calm things down.
Changes to inheritance tax for farmers sparked mass protests and an eventual U-turn, while plans to introduce digital ID confused and annoyed voters in a fight picked for seemingly no reason.
These were just a series of policies the public considered betrayals, with others including no compensation for the WASPI women, and whacking up business rates on pubs.
As well as these unforced errors, there have been policies that have seemingly turned away from Labour values, such as planned cuts to welfare that were only scrapped after widespread opposition from their own MPs as well as this newspaper.
On immigration, the party took a hardline stance, with the Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood following a Danish model that has been described as “racist” and a failure by MPs from Denmark. After years of attacking the Tories over Theresa May’s “hostile environment”, the party has embraced the same language and attitude, most notably in the PM’s “island of strangers” speech, which he apologised for after.
Even some of their correct decisions, like ending the cruel two-child benefit cap, the party did after magically finding cash in the magic money tree, not because the PM sold it as a moral mission from the beginning.
Then there were the resignations, with Deputy Leader Angela Rayner quitting over her tax affairs, and Louise Haigh quitting as Transport Secretary over not disclosing a fraud conviction. On Palestine, the PM upset many by saying Israel “has the right” to withhold power and water from Gaza.
Most damning of all was the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, a man known to be friends with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. These missteps have left the party in dire straits, and with just three years to turn it around and keep Nigel Farage out of Downing Street.
What he needs to do
To do this, they must engage with the seismic nature of the task, cease the Morgan McSweeney backed campaign of pandering to the right, and show the values that drew millions to the Labour party in the first place.
The success of the Green Party this election is if not a blueprint, then an inspiration for a party that should govern with kindness, not through a relentless focus to balance the books.
Zack Polanski’s party has bled the Labour party of its supporters and engaged people again in politics simply by offering hope, and appearing to have real values and interests. You may disagree with them, but you know where they stand on issues.
The Green party has galvanised young voters, who feel the Labour party does not represent their values. In seeking to purge the left, Labour has helped strengthen a party that seeks to replace it.
This change must also be in immigration policy. Labour ’s approach has not won voters over from Reform, it has instead emboldened Nigel Farage and his cabal to go even further. Welcoming immigrants is not just a moral issue, it’s an economic one.
People are desperate for hope, and not that their life will be a little better in ten years. They worry about paying their bills right now and putting food on the table this evening. People are dying, and they don’t have the luxury of waiting a decade for “national renewal”.
Another element holding the party back is its fixation on the so-called “fiscal rules”, a financial straitjacket that limits what the party can do, as well as its pledges not to raise tax. Stressing financial responsibility makes sense in a general election, but Labour will not hold back Mr Farage by counting the pennies.
In a cost of living crisis, the normal rules do not apply. Reform and the Greens have not swept Labour aside due to their sound financial plans and fully costed economic models. They have the luxury of not having to deliver their promises, just shouting for change.
Labour is instead in a position to deliver. Increasing taxes on the ultra-rich is a popular common-sense policy that can help Labour transform the communities that desperately need them in Government.
The PM deserves credit for many of his decisions. He has been strong on Ukraine, stopped the UK joining the conflict in Iran, and delivered a series of domestic policies that will massively improve people’s lives.
The Renters Reform Act and Workers Rights Bill are the best of Labour values, as are reducing NHS waiting times, free breakfast clubs, and sick pay for the self-employed. These were however drowned out by a party offering pragmatism to an electorate desperate for hope.
Mr Starmer cannot promise another relaunch and offer more of the same. Politics is about values, fundamental beliefs that are the driving force for what you do. Two years into his premiership, it is time for the PM to show what his are, and tell a story that can bring the public with him.
