Same old Starmer, but with feeling

Once more, with feeling. This was Sir Keir Starmer turned up to 11, Labour’s quiet man reaching for the volume. The problem: it was the same old specifics.

The Prime Minister’s tone, energy – even his attire – for the big reset speech after that local election battering were all projecting a step change in approach to the job.

I get it, Sir Keir implored. No more incrementalism. It was time for bold ideas matching the scale of the challenges we faced. Governing was about emotion as well as argument.

Gone were the tie and the suit jacket. Instead there was a “bloody lively” Labour leader in a white shirt and cheery grin before a crowd of adoring and applauding Labour activists.

Taken at face value, the words were an about-turn. “Evidence matters but so too does emotion. Stories beat spreadsheets,” said Sir Keir, dismissively dubbed “Mr Rules” for so much of his leadership.

This was a repudiation of not just Sir Keir’s 22 months in Downing Street but half a decade as Labour leader, which have borne the hallmarks of a technocrat.

The wrinkles emerge when the details are scrutinised, however, as they will be by Labour MPs wondering whether there is substance behind the rhetoric.

Take the three areas singled out by the Prime Minister, and the emptiness of his prose becomes glaringly apparent.

On Europe, Sir Keir took a bold step towards the position closer to his instincts, which until now political expediency has stopped him from adopting.

Brexit had left the UK weaker and poorer, he said. It was time to take Britain back to the heart of Europe. This was designed as music to the ears of Left-wingers departing the party.

So what was the Prime Minister’s actual proposal for delivering on this vision? Giving young people the freedom to travel the EU – a policy he announced a year ago.

The red lines of not returning to the customs union and the single market stay, leaving only a hint that the 2029 general election manifesto might propose ditching them.

If this was an overt pitch for Remainers to come back to the Labour Party, there were few specifics to grab hold of.

Then there was the plea to young people, who abandoned the party en masse for the Greens last Thursday. It was time to give them hope and optimism.

The Prime Minister sounded genuine as he spoke of the importance of every child having the opportunity to flourish regardless of their background.

This is the stuff that really motivates Sir Keir, as Richard Hermer, the Attorney General and one of his few close friends in politics, has said convincingly in recent months. There is no reason to doubt that sincerity.

So what game-changers at this moment of intense political peril were unveiled? More emphasis on promoting apprenticeships and more money for the Pride in Place scheme. Both have been features of the Starmer government for months.

And then there was British Steel. With a flourish of a magician whipping away the cloak, the Prime Minister revealed that he would legislate for the power to fully nationalise it.

But in the minds of the public British Steel is already nationalised – the Government stepped in last year and is running the company. Indeed, Sir Keir could not quite guarantee the change: it would still be subject to a “public interest” test.

It is into this gap – between the “new Keir” projected in fuzzy outline and the hard reality of what is actually proposed – that Labour MPs could stumble as they weigh up a putsch in the coming days.

This was the same old Starmer, just with feeling.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]