Keir Starmer was a successful Labour leader but a failure as a Prime Minister, according to Daily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon. The former director of public prosecutions took over from Jeremy Corbyn when Labour had been reduced to rubble at the 2019 general election. Corbyn’s legacy was a party infected by anti-semitism and viewed as weak on defence, crime and the economy. Labour was, to quote Starmer in his resignation statement, “politically, financially and morally bankrupt”.
Starmer's Reforms and High Point
In five years, Starmer painstakingly reformed Labour and reconnected the party with the priorities of the voters. His high point in the job was leapfrogging the Tories in one term and recording a stunning 174-seat majority in 2024. But the man who took Labour into Government did not have the skills to use the levers of power to change the country.
Early Blunders and Fatal Mistakes
Starmer struggled to recover from the early blunders that proved fatal for his administration. Cutting winter fuel payments from low-income pensioners was a catastrophe of such epic proportions it still dogs Labour canvassers to this day. Running on “economic growth” while jacking up national insurance rates for employers was unforgivable. Promoting a lazy version of much-needed welfare reform also lost him moral authority and political capital. Accepting freebies from donors while ordinary Britons struggled to pay the bills was another terrible oversight. Appointing the vile Peter Mandelson, despite knowing about his links to dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was off-the-scale bad.
Failure to Set Out a Vision
Starmer's failure to set out a positive, upbeat vision of political and economic renewal was also part of his undoing. Voters wanted an end to the austerity of the Tory years and a new chapter to be opened on the country they love. Starmer’s gloomy Rose Garden speech, in which he warned that "things will get worse before they get better", symbolised his inability to read the public mood.
Lack of Pre-Election Planning
But the outgoing Prime Minister’s biggest sin was a failure to plan ahead of the general election. Everyone in his team knew the key challenges facing the UK - a soaring welfare bill, sluggish growth, an ongoing cost of living crisis and an electorate concerned about immigration. Starmer should have had an oven-ready plan in each area, but power seemed to take him by surprise and he could never get ahead of events. Team Starmer focused on winning the election, not transforming the country, and a heavy price has been paid for their failures.
Comparison with Tony Blair
In his first eighteen months as Prime Minister, Tony Blair introduced devolution for England and Wales, as well as making the Bank of England independent. The Good Friday Agreement was also signed in this period, while totemic policies like the minimum wage were brought forward. Starmer, by contrast, was lukewarm about his Government’s most progressive policies. He belatedly lifted the two-child benefit cap, but only because he had been put under pressure by his own MPs. Even the workers’ rights package was watered down after intensive lobbying by business.
Impact on Scottish Labour
His failures also torpedoed any chance Scottish Labour had of toppling the SNP in the Holyrood election. After 19 years in charge, and with public services on their knees, the Nationalist administration was ripe for getting turfed out of power. But Starmer was poison on the doorsteps in May and his mistakes gifted the SNP an undeserved fifth term in power.
Handover to Andy Burnham
Everything points to a bloodless handover to newly-elected Andy Burnham, who seems certain not to face a challenge. Burnham has been a successful mayor of Greater Manchester who has delivered policies like bringing the bus network back under public control. He has also shown through his by-election win in Makerfield that he can take on and trounce Reform UK. But running a region is nothing compared to leading the United Kingdom and Burnham, who is on the soft Left, is a risk. He has stood for the Labour leadership twice before and failed to impress on either occasion. He will also have powerful backbench enemies who remain loyal to Starmer.
Early Signs for Burnham
However, the early signs are that voters are willing to give Burnham a chance. Initial policy noises like greater public ownership, partially reversing the NI rises and increasing defence spending indicate an agenda that could chime with the public. Burnham will take over at a time of voter volatility and impatience with a Labour Government that has failed to deliver. He will enjoy a political honeymoon - a longer one that Starmer was granted - but he will soon be faced with a series of difficult political choices. Starmer is a textbook example of a politician who failed in office because he did not have a plan in place. Burnham needs to use the next month wisely if he is to avoid the same fate.
