Labour still doesn't seem to realise it must inspire voters, not just wait for the Conservatives to lose the next general election – Scotsman comment

Voters deserve better than managerial politicians whose best selling point is they are not as bad as the alternative

Two devastating defeats and a narrow victory for the Conservatives in three by-elections should have sent as clear a message to Keir Starmer as to Rishi Sunak. Of course, the Prime Minister already knew his party was in deep trouble but the victory in Uxbridge and South Ruislip offers a glimmer of hope.

His analysis of the results was designed to rally the Tory faithful, but could also be read as election advice for Labour. “Westminster has been acting like the next election is a done deal, the Labour Party has been acting like it's a done deal,” Sunak said. “The people of Uxbridge just told all of them that it is not.”

The Conservatives' ability to hold onto Boris Johnson’s old seat was largely explained by people on both sides of the political divide by local anger over the extension of London's ultra-low emissions zone by Labour’s London mayor, Sadiq Khan. This appears to have been a factor but it also does not appear that voters found themselves swept up in widespread enthusiasm for Labour.

The Tories are unpopular but can anyone say that Starmer’s Labour are equally popular? The party’s current strategy seems to be a decidedly cautious one: avoid saying anything controversial that might derail their seemingly inevitable victory.

However, a failure to inspire voters, to find ways to explain why Labour will be different and better than the Conservatives, will only increase the chances of a lacklustre result. In 2010, Labour was unpopular after 13 years in power, the Iraq War, and the 2008 financial crash, but even so David Cameron was only able to form a government with help from the Liberal Democrats.

Perhaps a Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition would better reflect the mood of the nation and it might help dampen down trouble for Starmer from his party’s left wing. But, from Labour's own point of view, the party needs to build a much more enticing vision of the future. And voters should be able to choose between parties determined to change their lives for the better, not managerial bureaucrats whose best selling point is they aren’t as bad as the alternative.