In British political history, Labour governments are as rare as a blue moon over Whitehall. In the last century, the party has governed for a meagre 33 years and has always lagged far behind the electorally dominant Tories.
Part of the reason for this is what many would call Britain’s naturally moderate disposition which has seen Labour governments find political success and centrism to be frustratingly closely linked.
The other reason is perhaps slightly harder to pin down. While the Conservative governments of Thatcher, Cameron, Johnson (and even Liz Truss) have found pursuing bold action relatively easy, often to disastrous effect, Labour has sought to tentatively eek out reform in the perennial fear of losing what often feels like lukewarm public support for a left-wing government.
It is for these reasons that when the UK does, every now and again, choose Labour as its governing party, it always comes built-in with the distinct feeling that they might not be back in No. 10 for quite some time after they are inevitably shown the door. This, combined with the fact that the left has always defined itself through the lens of its perceived moral superiority, means that an especially large historical burden falls on its prime ministers to not fumble the bag.
That brings us to our current PM who, perhaps with the strongest will in the world, seems to be doing just that. Despite being elected in a once-in-a-generation landslide, Keir Starmer, only one year into his premiership, is floundering.
Yes, his proposed workers’ rights reforms are impressive and will no doubt be significant for many people. And yes, facing a crumbling security situation on the continent and Trump’s destruction of US-European relations he showed impressive leadership. And yes, he is slowly enacting important changes to our system of government such as re-nationalising rail and removing hereditary peers from the House of Lords.
But to point to these achievements is to fundamentally miss the point. For better or worse, people elect Labour governments to shake things up, improve living standards and enact important social reforms. In other words, they want bold action and a clear vision. I would argue that, after 14 years of frankly shambolic Tory rule, now more than ever British people desperately want to feel the hand of a benevolent state.
Instead, Starmer’s government has started to solidify itself in people’s minds as wracked by infighting, keen to cut benefits and eager to raise taxes. Whether you agree with these decisions or not, it is clear that few people view this administration to have the correct medicine the country needs and instead take the view that the PM is impotent at best, cruel at worst.
Now, for the most part, it is too early in the parliament to pass judgement and Labour does have another four years to demonstrate to the electorate what it has achieved. In this sense, we should aim to be fair and allow them time to figure out the teething problems that, to a certain extent, plague all incoming governments.
However, politics waits for no man and, perhaps sooner than he would like, Starmer is facing his first electoral test in the form of a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby. The vote is being called to replace the current MP, Mike Amesbury, who has been handed a 10-month prison sentence for assaulting a constituent and consequently resigning.
This should normally not be much cause for concern since the seat ranks as Labour’s 49th-safest constituency and was won in 2024 with a healthy majority of 14,696. The fact that we are even discussing a potential loss here is worrying; in some local polls, Reform is leading.
This, combined with Starmer’s abysmal 19 per cent approval rating, means that a teal-coloured gain is possible, perhaps even likely. A win for Nigel Farage’s party would have disastrous consequences for both the Tories and Labour as they inevitably lurch to the right in the vain hope of capturing stray Reform voters. This would be bad for the government and bad for our political discourse.
All this is a great shame for the party of Hardie, Attlee, and Wilson, boasting some of the most impressive political achievements in British history. Among which rank: the NHS, abortion rights, the decriminalisation of homosexuality and countless workers’ rights protections. It is a pity then that in the futile hope of pleasing everyone, it looks like Starmer’s Labour will please no one. He should be careful that this doesn’t cost him and his party dearly.
“Mike Amesbury” by Rathfelder is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.