Starmer’s purpose, as I have long argued, and as it is spelled out today, must be growth.
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February 23, 2023 12:07 PM
Kiel Sturmer hates the opposition. He finds it painfully frustrating. He will regularly complain at shadow cabinet meetings that the only thing Labor can do from the opposition bench is to force a vote in the House of Commons, and that it will inevitably lose. and that was the content of today’s speech.
When it comes to helping us understand what he will do as prime minister, it is arguably the most important thing a Labor leader has done. has invested “heavily” in these missions. It’s open.
But talk of “national missions,” “long-term plans,” and “decades of national renewal” show more than Starmer’s thirst for power and government plans. He’s not complacent (currently the foulest word in his office). Instead, he knows from history that the most transformative governments have been in it for a long time, whether thatcher or Blair.
Ambition is bold, but it doesn’t come easily. If Labor wins within his 18 months, they are likely to take over the worst of peacetime government. The UK economy is stagnant and structurally weak. Millions of people are stuck on hospital waiting lists. There is also a growing sense that things are no longer working in the UK the way they used to.
Expectations have to be managed. Voters will be frustrated and desperate for change. Successive governments have told them things will turn around, but they remain disappointed. They have little patience for omissions or failed offers.
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At the same time, much of the institutional knowledge from the days when Labor was in power has faded. Only his two members of the Shadow Cabinet run the department. Unlike in the United States, there is no formal change of government. I don’t have time to learn on the job. Less than 24 hours after the polls closed, he’s sitting in the cabinet room where the new prime minister will rule.
Therefore, in order for Starmers to achieve the government’s 10-year plan, they must be embedded in the 10-year strategy for winning. It begins by defining the purpose of his government. Blair had modernization, Cameron had the deficit, Johnson had Brexit. His one of Snack’s many weaknesses is his lack of purpose. I still don’t understand why he became prime minister. At best he’s there to repair the damage to his party, and at worst he’s managing the decline of the country.
Starmer’s purpose, as I have argued for a long time, must be growth, as it is also explained today. Britain’s stagnant economy is a record for the past decade under successive prime ministers. That means less investment in infrastructure, less funding for public services, less jobs, less business. Growth must be the anchor for the policies that follow. Investing in green industries creates jobs, good parenting helps parents get back to work, a strong economy needs strong public services and, dare I say it, unlocking trade makes Brexit work. means to let
Some in the working world say that “growth” is too abstract a concept for political movement. Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean it’s a wrong argument. An effective campaign is one that creates complex issues related to family dinner table conversations. There will be no test today or 18 months from now for a successful Starmer mission. That’s him in 2029, and whether Prime Minister Sturmer can stand on the steps of Downing Street and convince people that they’re better off living under Labor.
There is one final lesson Labor leaders can learn from Thatcher and Blair’s playbook. Both were restrained in opposition, but radical in power. Sturmer has proven he can do the former, but only time will tell if he can do the latter.
Ben Nunn is the former Director of Communications at Keir Starmer.
