Starmer need not cosplay Blair – there is much to avoid from the New Labour conference playbook

Keir Starmer (Credit: Matt Crossick / Alamy Stock Photo)

The line between triumph and disaster is wafer thin. A leader has two completely different audiences to address. On the one hand, the party faithful who are anxious for some red meat and, on the other, the great British public, most of who are anxious for reassurance that Labour poses little or no threat to the established order.

Keir Starmer can be sure of one thing. If he devotes so much as a single paragraph to bashing his own side, that is what will lead the evening news bulletins. Above all, he should not waste a moment attacking Jeremy Corbyn or the friends of Corbyn. Nor should he spend time apologising for sins past. Arguably, he has already done too much of that. He must exude confidence, avoid hostages to fortune, and point his guns firmly outwards.

Above all, Starmer should not waste a moment attacking Jeremy Corbyn

This ought not to be difficult. There is no shortage of ammunition. He might want to call on that bible of free market economics, The Economist, for help which, on 8 July, had this to say: “Britain has been poorly governed for the last 13 years. Each chart of public policy looks roughly the same… There is gradual improvement from the early 1990s until 2010, and then things become worse… from rough sleeping to real wages to waiting lists at hospitals.” There are, however, several elephants in the room. The first and foremost of these is tax.

If the past is anything to go by, the Tories will go into the election promising tax cuts. The Labour leader needs to anticipate this, making clear that his priority must be to rebuild public services and that – he might add in a message to his own rank and file – this is likely to be a long, slow haul. If he is feeling a teeny bit bolder, he may even want to offer a defence of taxation. It need not be a burden. Fairly raised and efficiently distributed, it is the subscription we pay for living in civilisation. 

Brexit is the second elephant. There may surely come a time when a future government will have to consider rejoining the European single market, but that is a hornets’ nest he will not want to prod. The least said, the better. If challenged, he should say that, for now, Brexit is a done deal, but he should not close the door completely. The phrase “a third-term issue” might come in handy.

The Labour leader’s primary task is to convince a sceptical nation that a cabinet led by him is capable of governing efficiently. Thus far, all the evidence suggests that while a majority of voters are thoroughly cheesed off with the present management, they have yet to be convinced that Labour has the answers. 

Keir Starmer is not Tony Blair, and he never will be. That is both an advantage and a disadvantage. To be sure, there is much to be learnt from the New Labour playbook, but there is also much to be avoided. We could do without the carefully orchestrated rapture that surrounded Blair’s later conference speeches, the loyal wife dashing to the platform to embrace him, and the groupies in the front row holding up placards proclaiming his greatness. There were moments at past conferences when one might have thought that Blair was about to be assumed into heaven. Starmer should keep his feet planted firmly on the ground.

Chris Mullin, former Labour minister

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