Keir Starmer has been so focussed on not 'dropping the Ming vase', he's forgotten what politics is about

I am sure that I was not alone in feeling an overwhelming sense of disappointment every time I watched the two most likely candidates for Prime Minister in the leaders’ debates. And not just because I am a Scottish Liberal Democrat.

Of course we do not have a presidential system, and having watched the US debate last week, that is at least something to be grateful for. But in choosing our next government after five years of turmoil, we need a leader who can offer a little more than either management skills or scandals.

Two middle-aged, middle-class men in dull if well-tailored suits? Where are the primary colours, the flair that politicians need to inspire? Why is only my party leader, Ed Davey, offering a human side to his campaign? Ethics too are a must.

Keir Starmer has been overly cautious during the election campaign and should learn from Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

The chaos and sleazy shenanigans which have become almost commonplace under the current governments in both Westminster and Holyrood has to be consigned to the past. But we need so much more. So much of what we see on our TVs and hear from Tory, Labour and SNP politicians every day fails to address the issues that I hear from people on doorsteps.

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They want to know about our plans for the NHS, social care, the mental health of our young people, climate change and the cost-of-living crisis that we have all been struggling with. But more than that, we need some idea what of what they think Britain will look like five years from now. In short, a vision for the future of our country.

If there is disappointment, indeed disillusion, among the public about politics, that lack of vision must surely be a part of it. I appreciate that for the past year, perhaps more, there has been a general expectation that the election would be Labour’s to lose. And that metaphor of Keir Starmer being as careful as a man carrying a Ming vase across a slippery floor in socks was almost an inevitable consequence.

But watching the last of the leaders' debates, I longed for one of them to say: “You know what, I don’t care about Ming vases, this is how I want our country to look. These are the opportunities I want to create, the direction I want to take. Come with me if you agree, and I will do whatever it takes to get us not just back on track, but to create an NHS we can be proud of again, a world leader in technology and a society that offers everybody a fair deal.”

There are no doubt those who at this point will ask whether I believe my own leader has done any better. Honestly, yes, I believe he has. In this campaign, Ed Davey has opened a window on his life, what drives him and the challenges that have made him who he is.

And, crucially, that he is prepared to poke fun at himself to make a serious political point. I don’t think anyone, including Ed, expects that he will pick up the keys to number 10 on July 5. But his campaign has reminded people that there is an alternative, and it is not more of the same dull suits.

Christine Jardine is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Edinburgh West