“There is no such thing as Starmerism and there never will be.”

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So Keir Starmer reportedly told colleagues, according to Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund’s book Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer. For much of his premiership, the line seems an entirely fair assessment.

His political obituary writes itself: the leader who rescued Labour from electoral oblivion, won the largest parliamentary majority since Tony Blair in 2001, and then, with astonishing speed, presided over the loss of almost 1,500 council seats and the evaporation of his own authority. There were persistent U-turns on key policies, and an inability to shift stubbornly weak economic indicators alongside his partner in crime, Rachel Reeves.

He will not be remembered as a prime minister of grand visions or memorable phrases, unless his vague governing slogan of “Change” and often-used phrase “Country first, party second” are to be included. His critics on the Left accused him of abandoning principle; his critics on the Right complained he never had any to begin with.

Voters, meanwhile, often struggled to understand exactly what Starmer believed. In an era of “cakeism”, where voters increasingly expect lower taxes, better services and immediate results, the office of Prime Minister has become a poisoned chalice for all.

Yet there is some irony to his resignation that ought to give both supporters and detractors food for thought. The conventional verdict is that Starmer was too managerial and too unwilling to articulate a larger purpose for his government.

And yet the Starmer who for weeks refused to resign was, paradoxically, the most authentic version of him we ever saw. What emerged under pressure was not some hidden socialist firebrand........

© LBC