The Commons: The Rise of Keir Starmer
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For the last decade, the Labour Party has been embroiled in conflict, bitter disagreement, and an increasingly factional landscape. Becoming Labour Leader in April 2020, Sir Keir Starmer was not only handed a broken party, but a global pandemic and ongoing Brexit troubles too boot. Having just completed his first 100 days at Labour’s helm, Starmer has made clear his vision for a more approachable and electable party and has begun to take steps in that direction.
Labour is a complex party comprised of four main factions: the Old Right, the Blairites, the Soft Left, and the Hard Left. Against Radical Socialism and in favour of the free market and globalisation, the Old Right and Blairites do not pull significant influence in the party as of the last decade and thus accept that in order to push any part of their agenda, they are better off standing behind a soft-left candidate like Starmer.
Jeremy Corbyn, Starmer’s predecessor, was criticized by some for having led his party “too far to the left ideologically,” which may have been a key factor in Labour’s December 2019 loss – their biggest since 1935. The hard left has long been criticised by other Labour members as being incapable of compromise and thus electability. Many argue that because the hard left is “so unwilling to compromise on their beliefs,” they may never find “a leader whose politics can appeal to the wider electorate.”
Moving more to the center, the soft left faction of Labour essentially believes that “progressive government can be achieved by selling moderate social democracy,” as opposed to an uncompromising leftwing agenda. While the hard left remains “committed to the radical policy agenda developed in the 1970s, despite waning support for traditional socialism among the electorate,” the soft left is more flexible in its aims, compromising some more traditionally socialist views in the hopes that Labour’s platform will be more electable and widely received.
Jeremy Corbyn was deeply connected with the hard left and several of his Senior staff existed on the dramatic periphery of the left-right political spectrum. Indeed, one of Starmer’s most notable acts in the last 100 days was his sacking of Shadow Secretary of State for Education Rebecca Long-Bailey, who had been a prominent figure in Corbyn’s shadow cabinet and an outspoken supporter of the former Labour leader. While the reason for Long-Bailey’s departure was her engagement with anti-Semitic conspiracies on Twitter, her sacking has welcomed anger toward Starmer from the hard left. For many leftwing members of the party, Starmer’s removal of Long-Bailey feels underhanded – a convenient way to remove any hard-left friction and Corbynite loyalties from his shadow cabinet. In their eyes, if Starmer’s goal is to unify the party, this is not a good place to begin.
The now victor announced his candidacy in early January, positioning himself as a unifier for what has been a broken party for years. The next few months saw Starmer continuously outpoll his competition, Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.
Starmer’s electability became increasingly evident, with YouGov polls in late January and February predicting his leadership victory. Furthermore, numbers suggest that more of the Labour party was leaning toward a soft-left leader, that is, someone willing to compromise some traditional Labour values in order to draw more votes to the party. In a YouGov poll from late January, 83% of Labour members polled say they would be willing to compromise Labour values for the sake of electability. Of Starmer supporters, 93% said they would compromise.
Via YouGov - January 24, 2020.
Starmer’s rise to power in the Labour party reveals a sharp shift from the Corbynism of the last five years: the uncompromising, leftwing agenda that saw Labour lose spectacularly in December. A discussion of Corbynism’s efficacy is an entirely different matter, but as of right now and made clear by the April 2020 leadership results, the Labour party wanted a change.
The last 100 days have seen a wealth of opinions on his leadership capabilities. On one side, people like his professionalism. A former defence lawyer, he’s well-spoken and calm, eloquent and factual. For many, this is one of his strengths; he’s making Labour look more “reasonable,” offering criticism and support for the government where it is due. On the other hand, some fear he’s “playing into respectability politics at the expense of people Labour should be trying to help.” In trying to balance his critique and support for the Conservative’s handling of the pandemic, some think he’s betraying the very people that elected him. Support for Starmer has waned especially among the hard left. One “self-confessed” Corbynite told the Guardian: “I see Keir Starmer as a passionless leader who should, but isn’t, holding this government to account at a time when the most vulnerable people are dying simply because they are poor or old.”
Undeniably, Starmer is pulling Labour away from the hard-left periphery into a more electable soft left position, which despite criticism may be what Labour needs to regain public popularity. In a YouGov poll from early July, when asked who, between Starmer and Corbyn, best appeals to the largest amount of general voters, 73% of Labour members polled said Starmer with 64% of Conservatives polled agreeing. While promising for Labour’s electability, Conservative support for Starmer may be yet another red flag for leftwing members of the Labour party. When asked about their opinion of Labour’s leader after his first 100 days, one Conservative MP stated “I think he is doing well – he’s dragged Labour more into the centre-ground and there’s a sense of competence that there never was with Corbyn. We can no longer assume there’s no opposition.” This move to the center has some members concerned that Labour is “at risk of becoming a watered-down Tory party.” They beg the immortal question for Labour: “It’s all well and good becoming electable but what’s the point if all you’ll do is maintain the status quo of the last 10 years?”
While Starmer’s first stint as Labour leader has been anything but typical, he’s taken the wheel and set a course for the party: unity. He’s made it clear that he believes in the “moral case for socialism” and the fight against injustice: the essence of the party. In his view, “Another future is possible, but [Labour has] to come together as a party and as a movement to fight for it.” Unity is the key to Labour’s future and Starmer’s functional raison d'être; the question is whether he can bridge the very division of hard and soft left that his rise to power represents.