British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement of his resignation on Monday seems to have set off a literal heat wave across Britain, with high temperatures in both climate and politics throughout the week. He will be the sixth head of government in Britain in the last 10 years to have run out of steam along the way, having to give up power all too soon, and often reluctantly.
Speaking from the Downing Street lectern, Starmer almost burst into tears at some point, for he had done everything he felt he had to do to retain his position. In fact, even in his resignation speech, he displayed the same determination, strongly condemning his predecessor as the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, who has never done anything he felt would normally be expected of the likes of Starmer.
The reactions to Starmer’s resignation have been instructive, too. The official narrative is neatly captured by the slogan: Starmer is a decent man, but just not the right man. Of course, there is no evidence for the former claim, though there is ample for the latter.
Many will remember him from his notorious LBC interview, where he argued, before even being elected prime minister, that “Israel has that right” to cut off power and water in Gaza, effectively legitimizing a sinister method of mass murder. Indeed, his credentials as a human rights lawyer will be remembered only in the context of his failure to uphold human rights when it mattered.
And many will remember Starmer as a “chancer” who will always say and do whatever he has to, even if it means making brazen U-turns. Some may even go so far as to say that he is immature, giving off the “vibes” of a spoilt, overexcited teenager.
That would not be fair, however, for no teenager could be as versatile as Starmer has been throughout his relatively short tenure as prime minister. He expelled members of his party for the apparent crime of voting to scrap the cap on social benefits for parents with more than two children. Then, after facing significant public backlash, he reversed course and abolished the cap himself, later taking credit for and boasting about this great achievement.
The same goes for his other policy fiascos, including cutting off winter fuel allowances for those in need. In all these, he showed the kind of versatility demanded by how far he had come in life. Perhaps all he wanted was to make his late tool-maker father proud.
Luckily for Starmer, his successor has already been decided, so he can leave as part of an orderly transition. A former mayor of Manchester and recently elected lawmaker for Makerfield, Andy Burnham, is expected to become the next leader, representing a“change” long demanded by the people.
Burnham’s rhetoric borrows elements from the Green Party’s Zack Polanski, particularly on social and economic issues, but it would be naive, and frankly, foolish to think that his actual policies will be substantially different from Starmer’s. For the company they keep is not so different. Both Starmer and Burnham are heavily indebted to those who have strong ties to a certain British think tank that is devoted to promoting the Blairite “right-wing” of the Labour Party.
Think Labour, formerly and better known as Labour Together, was founded mainly to oppose Corbyn’s bid for the leadership after the resignation of Ed Miliband in 2015. It later tasked itself with “ripping out the poison of anti-Semitism, restoring trust in the economy, defence and national security” and turning the Labour Party into “a party that once again stood proudly with, not against, our national flag,” as Starmer listed among his major achievements in his resignation speech.
The mastermind behind the Labour Together project was none other than Starmer’s former chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who was also forced to resign just a few months ago for having recommended the disgraced Peter Mandelson for the role of Britain’s Ambassador to the United States.
Burnham’s debt to Labour Together is not insignificant either. For him to be able to return to the House of Commons and challenge Starmer’s leadership, the former lawmaker for Makerfield, Josh Simons, had to stand down, triggering a by-election. Realizing how unpopular Starmer has become, he threw his support behind Burnham, hoping that “the saviour from the North” would return the favor in due course.
Between 2022 and 2024, Simons was the director of Labour Together, and he did everything he could to get Starmer elected. Now, he will do the same for Burnham.
The Manchester Mayor’s path back to Westminster was paved by many willing hands, including the very able hands of Simons. The question is how he intends to repay his debt.
