Keir Starmer's 'weak' reset a reminder Labour's seismic majority built on shaky ground

Keir Starmer has held yet another reset - and it does not indicate a confident administration

Sir Keir Starmer has undergone another reset and the Tories don’t need to be worried.

This week, five months into government, the Prime Minister held a press conference to outline his vision for Britain, after an election, and again, five months where he had plenty of opportunity to do just that.

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Such an event is not a sign of a confident administration reaffirming its principles to an adoring public. It’s an indication that it isn’t working and it’s not hard to see why.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his 'Plan for Change' speech at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, on Thursday. Picture: Darren Staples-WPA Pool/Getty ImagesPrime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his 'Plan for Change' speech at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, on Thursday. Picture: Darren Staples-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers his 'Plan for Change' speech at Pinewood Studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, on Thursday. Picture: Darren Staples-WPA Pool/Getty Images | Getty Images

Labour swept into power following years of Tory chaos that made people poorer and an election campaign where former prime minister Rishi Sunak put appearing on a television interview over paying his respects at D-Day.

This obviously helped, as did the fact that Labour ran a water-tight campaign, where the message of change and stability was crystal clear, even if the “how” was not.

How far they have fallen. Gone is the discipline, abandoned is the coherent communications strategy and in its place is a government constantly tripping over itself, whether for internal issues or simply deciding what to do.

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Former chief of staff Sue Gray was in, then out, then given a fake job, then out again. Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, resigned over a historic fraud conviction.

Then there’s the policy. Winter fuel. Two-child benefit. Farmers inheritance tax. National Insurance increases. There is bravery in making tough decisions, but it requires convincing people you’re right.

So now to the reset, the difficult second album, where Starmer unveiled missions and milestones and promises and all the things you expect. Now look, targets are good. Promises to the people matter and, unlike the SNP, Labour aren't announcing funding boosts after cutting services to the bone.

The problem is, the language is still unconvincing and the focus is misguided. Talk of a “tepid bath of managed decline" and even invoking Donald Trump’s "the swamp" is a pitch to people who simply don’t want to vote Labour, and fails to address the big issues.

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Yes it’s easy to resent civil servants, it’s been a right-wing blame game forever. But it’s also cowardly, weak and the behaviour of a government that is desperately looking for a scapegoat. Frankly, it’s all a bit Dominic Cummings.

What’s worse is, it’s not what voters want to hear. Like the Democrats talking about saving democracy, focusing on Whitehall not working isn’t the rhetoric that’s required.

People just want to be better off. Cutting winter fuel as bills and rents skyrocket doesn’t do that. Promising to cut benefits doesn’t address that.

This latest relaunch seems an attempt to win over Reform voters, something already made clear last week, when the Prime Minister accused the Tories of using Brexit to “turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders". That’s not the language of the progressive. It’s the speech of a Reform candidate.

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Delivery is the way to win voters back, not embracing populist language and dressing up as Nigel Farage to impress people who are never going to vote Labour.

Starmer has a seismic majority and therefore a generational opportunity to transform people’s lives. It would be helpful if he decided what that looked like. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the relaunch, see you at the next one.

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