Is Labour ready for government? This question is being asked regularly of the public by pollsters YouGov, especially as the UK approaches the general election on July 4. For many, the answer is a measure of the extent to which Keir Starmer has changed the party since he became leader.
The idea is that if a leader can modernise their party via policy review and personnel changes, then they could similarly change and improve the country. It is, effectively, a test of leadership skills, alongside a demonstration that they can stamp their authority on their party.
To determine whether Starmer has sufficiently demonstrated this leadership skill, we can briefly look back at how Tony Blair and David Cameron modernised their parties before entering government. Has Starmer also engaged in such deep renewal while in opposition?
Rhetorically speaking, the importance of the idea of wholesale change led from the centre is designed to create a narrative following a previous defeat. In essence, it is a story told by the leadership of how they accepted defeat but have now reflected and changed in response. For Blair and Cameron, it was about understanding what message the public was sending when they decided not to vote for them.
Blair interpreted the 1992 defeat as a message that voters did not yet trust the Labour party with the powers of government. The party was seen as lacking preparedness and as not sharing the values of the post-Thatcher electorate. They feared that, at heart, Labour was still prone to........