The double by-election win from the Labour party in the past couple of weeks has made many left-wing voters excited, whilst leaving many Conservative party members nervous. As Tamworth has been a conservative seat since 2010 and Mid-Bedfordshire since 1931 (it has never been held by Labour) this change feels emblematic of a powerful desire for a change in government in the UK.
So, is this win the result of successful stratagem? In both Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire Labour went to efforts they haven’t before. They focused on small villages and towns interacting with the population one on one. They handed out edited leaflets – they were pink rather than red. Most importantly they presented themselves as a solid entity and the very opposite of the Tory party. Discussing Kier Starmer’s strategy is difficult, as for a long time it has remained elusive, with many political commentators and reporters questioning whether he even had one. He seemed to just be standing back and sitting carefully on the fence about many issues with focus groups describing him as ‘boring’ and ‘bland’.
But it appears that Starmer’s restraint, inner focus and consistency was the strategy. At a talk Alastair Campbell recently did at Edinburgh University, he stated that he, whilst initially confused at the politician’s master plan, thinks it is becoming more and more clear. He argued that it is a three-pronged approach beginning with reforming the Labour party in his image post Corbynite chaos, discrediting the Tory party, then sitting back and allowing the Conservatives to destroy themselves. The by-elections seem to imply this was very effective.
If you were to ask a random member of the left who they would prefer between Starmer and Sunak, the answer would very easily be Starmer – he is becoming a decreasingly controversial figure (if he ever was one). If you ask a member of the right the same question there would be a variety of different answers, the most common being ‘neither’. Strong evidence for these propositions can be seen in these by-election results. The tories claim their loss was a result of poor voter turnout and a movement of voters from the Conservative party to the new Reform party.
The Tory claim is that these by-election results are unimportant and represent very little. But these two excuses outline exactly why the by-election results are so crucial. The Tory voters are becoming impartial to their own party. They would prefer not to vote than to vote for their own leaders – they don’t care for the difference between the two leaders, an opinion that has almost certainly arisen from Starmer’s ‘bland’ and ‘boring’ strategy. They have ‘gone on strike’ according to the CDO. Whilst Starmer’s approach may anger a few in the far left of the labour party and he may face challenges from his own party in the run to the general election, it appears that many in labour don’t care who’s in charge, as long as it is no longer the Conservatives.
So can these by-elections be accredited to Starmer’s translucent strategy and are they representative of the British Zeitgeist? My overwhelming answer, to both questions, is yes.
“Keir Starmer student Q&A, Liverpool – 12 Sep 2023” by keir.starmer.mp is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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What can the Labour by-election wins tell us about the political climate?
The double by-election win from the Labour party in the past couple of weeks has made many left-wing voters excited, whilst leaving many Conservative party members nervous. As Tamworth has been a conservative seat since 2010 and Mid-Bedfordshire since 1931 (it has never been held by Labour) this change feels emblematic of a powerful desire for a change in government in the UK.
So, is this win the result of successful stratagem? In both Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire Labour went to efforts they haven’t before. They focused on small villages and towns interacting with the population one on one. They handed out edited leaflets – they were pink rather than red. Most importantly they presented themselves as a solid entity and the very opposite of the Tory party. Discussing Kier Starmer’s strategy is difficult, as for a long time it has remained elusive, with many political commentators and reporters questioning whether he even had one. He seemed to just be standing back and sitting carefully on the fence about many issues with focus groups describing him as ‘boring’ and ‘bland’.
But it appears that Starmer’s restraint, inner focus and consistency was the strategy. At a talk Alastair Campbell recently did at Edinburgh University, he stated that he, whilst initially confused at the politician’s master plan, thinks it is becoming more and more clear. He argued that it is a three-pronged approach beginning with reforming the Labour party in his image post Corbynite chaos, discrediting the Tory party, then sitting back and allowing the Conservatives to destroy themselves. The by-elections seem to imply this was very effective.
If you were to ask a random member of the left who they would prefer between Starmer and Sunak, the answer would very easily be Starmer – he is becoming a decreasingly controversial figure (if he ever was one). If you ask a member of the right the same question there would be a variety of different answers, the most common being ‘neither’. Strong evidence for these propositions can be seen in these by-election results. The tories claim their loss was a result of poor voter turnout and a movement of voters from the Conservative party to the new Reform party.
The Tory claim is that these by-election results are unimportant and represent very little. But these two excuses outline exactly why the by-election results are so crucial. The Tory voters are becoming impartial to their own party. They would prefer not to vote than to vote for their own leaders – they don’t care for the difference between the two leaders, an opinion that has almost certainly arisen from Starmer’s ‘bland’ and ‘boring’ strategy. They have ‘gone on strike’ according to the CDO. Whilst Starmer’s approach may anger a few in the far left of the labour party and he may face challenges from his own party in the run to the general election, it appears that many in labour don’t care who’s in charge, as long as it is no longer the Conservatives.
So can these by-elections be accredited to Starmer’s translucent strategy and are they representative of the British Zeitgeist? My overwhelming answer, to both questions, is yes.
“Keir Starmer student Q&A, Liverpool – 12 Sep 2023” by keir.starmer.mp is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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