Former home secretary Jack Straw has urged Labour not to “panic” about the threat posed by Nigel Farage, praising Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s performance on the world stage and suggesting he should show more of that side of himself at home. In an interview with the Guardian, Straw said the party should not be alarmed by Reform UK’s poll lead, noting that insurgent parties have led polls before. “We have been here before in terms of an insurgent party leading in the polls. So I think it is the famous phrase – don’t panic,” he said.
Straw, who served as home secretary under Tony Blair, defended Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe the direct action group Palestine Action, saying he would have done the same. He also praised Starmer’s intention to recognise a Palestinian state after an ultimatum to Israel. The former cabinet minister said he believed Starmer and his cabinet were “head and shoulders” above opposition politicians and would benefit from a gradual improvement in the economy and public services, though this would not happen immediately.
Straw criticised the previous Conservative governments, particularly under Boris Johnson, for damaging the fabric of democracy. “Johnson polluted British politics and although he’s left the stage, that pollution carries on, and has been very profound,” he said. He contrasted the current inheritance with that of 1997, noting that while Labour faced challenges then, at least the previous government had been competent. “These people [in the last Tory government] were not competent. They couldn’t do the job. In the space of four years, I think there were five home secretaries,” he added.
On the issue of electoral reform, Straw said the party needed to consider it, warning that first-past-the-post could produce “really quirky results” and potentially allow Farage to gain power. “Could he envisage Farage as PM? There is a chance. I think it’s a small chance, smaller than he thinks. The Tory party appears to me to just be collapsing,” he said. Despite admitting he did not expect such a drop in popularity for Starmer and Labour, Straw urged calm, recalling that Labour lost the 2000 mayoral election to Ken Livingstone, which was seen as a humiliation at the time.
Straw expressed hope that the UK public would connect Starmer’s successful diplomacy, particularly with Donald Trump, with his potential as a statesman at home. “The way Starmer has navigated the challenge from America has been extraordinary,” he said, while acknowledging that the government had made missteps, including on welfare. He concluded that his instinct was that things would gradually improve.
