For the first time (yes, it has taken this long…), I am concerned about the direction or, rather, lack of direction of this government. I have always thought Starmer’s ideological pragmatism was to be admired, but the danger is that if bad mistakes blow you off course, there is no path to return to.
A terrible week for Starmer’s government…
This happened big time this week. Amendments to the benefits system which the government tried to drive through parliament to show fiscal rectitude were horribly rushed. Why introduce them now when a comprehensive review of the whole system was in train, reporting in 2026? Rightly, a lack of logic and no attempt to win backbenchers over, meant defeat loomed despite a 165 seat majority. Starmer et al realised this far too late and the amendments to win his colleagues over first diluted savings and then eradicated them. No cost savings now, and the government’s authority and credibility shredded in the process. Nobody doubts the current benefits system is unsustainable, even most Labour backbenchers, but this was not the way to go about fixing it with short-term changes simply to save an immediate £5 billion.
However, for a moment, spare a thought for Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor. She looked terrible in parliament yesterday, barely containing her tears. The cause was explained as a personal matter, but nobody should go through this in public. In PMQs, the charmless Kemi Badenoch alighted on her and Starmer ignored her. It damaged both of them. Starmer made up for it in later interviews, yet it took Mel Stride, Tory Shadow Chancellor, from the Opposition to exhibit genuine sympathy for Reeves’ plight on Sky News this morning. Good on him. Sometimes the toll of public life is too great.
Anyway, back to the issue in hand. Starmer needs to get back to domestic politics full-time. It is understandable that Ukraine, the EU, Putin, Trump, NATO are all hugely time consuming, but you cannot contribute constructively to international crises if you are defenestrated at home.
Starmer needs to lay out a comprehensive map of where his government is heading and, consequently, what the UK should look like in 2029. There needs to be carefully calibrated milestones that the public can identify with to measure achievements. Visible progress is everything if Labour is to head off the populists.
Starmer also better move fast to build relations with his fellow MPs and get off the hook of obsessive fiscal discipline for now which is creating more harm than good through excessive short-termism. He needs to improve his economic understanding to avoid ‘what the markets are thinking’ panic every few weeks whilst at the same time defending Reeves to the hilt. They are joined at the hip whether he likes it or not. If she goes, he is next.
An NHS overhaul, new house builds, planning reform, reviews of the benefits system and social care (the latter taking too long, however), and infrastructure investment are all strong building blocks for recovery in the government’s fortunes. But, Starmer has to get his communications act together and give the vision thing or he could be toast.
And the alternatives are too awful to contemplate…
Inside Right Politics 