Starmer’s pitch for power: country first, party second.
This article is by our Director of Public Affairs, Gerry McFall. You can email him here.
Visuals as the politics of change
At their core, modern party conferences are about carefully choreographed set pieces of a party on display, celebrating what it believes in - demonstrating unity and projecting their competency and credentials to govern. Conference speeches are about imagery and sentiment and within the echo chamber of the conference hall in Liverpool they were used to powerful effect. Keir Starmer referenced “Slava Ukraini”, a reference to the sovereignty of Ukraine. Members of the Shadow Cabinet and the Leader then observed a minute's silence for the late Queen, then sang the national anthem, God Save the King. Contrast this with Labour under Jeremy Corbyn. It would be inconceivable to take such positions, such notions of jingoism and flag waving have never sat well with the left of the Party. The symbolism from these crafted set pieces illustrate that Sir Keir Starmer is now firmly in charge of the Party and this gives him political space to manoeuvre – a luxury his opposite number doesn’t have.
A stuttering start
As a leader, Starmer is still perceived as a bit ‘boring’ and had struggled at the Dispatch Box against Boris Johnson’s charisma, blustering style and command of a brilliant soundbite. His response to the Government’s handling of COVID showed to many MPs that he lacked strong political instincts when often pushing at an open door. Internally, Starmer has had some difficult moments to contend with also; a damaging Equalities and Human Rights Commission investigation and report into antisemitism; Jeremy Corbyn’s subsequent suspension from the Party; and a drop in membership of 120,000 to approximately 430,000.
What a gift!
Although smaller, the events of the past weeks have shown a party that is much more united and buoyant. Labour is enjoying its biggest lead in the polls - somewhere between 17% and 33% – since 2001 and as inaccurate as they have been in recent elections, they very much matter in politics as the size of the lead is impossible to ignore. Uncertainty and fear are a fertile environment for the Opposition and Starmer has been handed an extraordinary gift with the mini-budget. It hastened an announcement from the Bank of England that it would allocate up to £65bn to spend on government bonds given the pension market came close to collapse, borrowing costs spiked and the typical price of two-year fixed mortgage reached over 6% - hitting a 14 year high. Be careful what you read though, some things are not always as they seem, the Pound hasn’t fallen off a cliff against the US Dollar. It has returned to where it was prior to the mini budget and its fluctuations of the past few weeks are generally in line with the Yen and Euro’s performance against a strong US Dollar.
A government on your side?
It is evident that Keir Starmer has clearly found his confidence. Angled at the podium, looking into the camera he spoke with humility telling the public of his working-class back story and how aspiration, a key element of the New Labour pitch, drove him on. Starmer articulated a view about the positive role government can play in people’s lives, a partnership with business and civic society. This is in complete contrast to the Prime Minister’s small state speech, which was about the government getting out of the way. Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor, repeated endlessly the phrase: “It’s time for a government that is on your side,”each time the roar of the conference hall ratcheting ever louder.
The pitch has been to cement Labour’s reputation as a serious party of economic competence – arguably the central issue now in British politics. There are however some jitters around Brexit, hence a senior Shadow Cabinet Minister said privately they are about making Brexit work – there is no revisiting that. However, the Party has yet to articulate a positive policy-based approach with the EU and what that would look like in terms of defence and security cooperation, immigration and on scientific research partnerships.
Election footing?
There was a palpable sense that imminent change was in the air from those with shorter memories of UK electoral politics, but the more experienced and seasoned Labour MPs discarded such notions – they believe a General Election is two years away. However, luck is about recognising the opportunity and preparing for it. The launch of a Labour Victory Fund becomes operational at the end of this month and this week there has been a restructure of the Leader’s Office. Policy and communications has now moved to Labour HQ, under Party General Secretary David Evans - a clear sign the Party is gearing up for an election campaign. The Conservatives current working majority is 71. New Labour overturned John Major’s majority of 21, and electoral politics dictate that Labour still has a long way to go and that will also require Keir Starmer to find a path to victory in Scotland if he is going to gain the keys to No 10.
Policy partnership
Expect Labour’s policy pitch to be light, it would be unwise to over commit given the fragility in the global economy and the likely state of the public finances in two years time. However, Keir Starmer managed to pull together a narrative that is distinct from the past two years but relevant to the issues facing the country today. This included the abolition of non-domiciled tax status; a ten year plan for modernisation of the NHS that deals with the COVID backlog and frontline staffing shortages; breakfast club funded expansion for all children at primary school; a supply chain task force to assess and review needs across different industrial sectors; a partnership based £8bn National Wealth Fund to stimulate private investment in energy transition and resilience; and a pledge to scale-up homeownership to 70% in the first five years of a Labour government.
Vision of the future required please!
Keir Starmer is a politician who looks at the complexity of issues and tries to grapple with them. Given he has the political space to manoeuvre, his responses will probably be more strategic and less tactical. He has a great opportunity to consolidate the momentum he has – he is not a rash man and would do well to resist knee jerk policy announcements. However, he must be more ambitious. He still needs to articulate a vision of the future of modern Britain in terms of managing the complex challenges facing society. More is required on how inward investment vehicles will be harnessed for stimulating the energy transition; how to successfully manage and prepare the future workforce with the skills for unleashing Artificial Intelligence and other technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Such technologies have the potential to displace people from the labour market if the right skills and educational framework is not in place – he must articulate how it will be an ethical and fair transition.
Shadow Cabinet & Shadow Kitchen Cabinet
Maintaining unity will be key and there is now a sense of strength and depth in the Shadow Cabinet. Pat McFadden as Shadow Chief Secretary is a key appointment, a former Business Minister, and key adviser to Tony Blair; his experience will complement the very capable Rachael Reeves. Former barrister and Shadow International Trade Secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, a close confidante of Keir Starmer, brings an intellectual rigour to carry into the Shadow Cabinet having written books on Clement Attlee, Nye Bevan and Harold Wilson. There are some welcome and experienced appointments to the Leaders Office too. Former Tony Blair speech writer and educational pioneer, Peter Hyman, who left politics in 2003 to set up a successful independent school in East London, is back as a senior advisor. Long-time New Labour pollster and focus group guru, Deborah Mattinson, is also back in the fold as Director of Strategy.
You don't knock, you don't enter!
Two years is a long time, and anything can change, it would be foolish to predict what might happen but one of the most important roles for public affairs practitioners is preparing clients for political change. Labour is serious about engaging with business and good ideas will be well received.
