There are times when centrism seems shrewd politics. Progressive enough for some lefties, permissive enough for liberals, cautious enough for conservatives and unobtrusive enough for the many voters who want politicians to “tread more lightly on your lives”, as Keir Starmer put it in his first prime ministerial speech. After years of turmoil and extremism, a centrist government – whether of the centre left or centre right – can come as a relief.

Centrism can seem inclusive: “We need to move forward together,” Starmer declared outside No 10. Centrism can seem “unburdened by doctrine”, as he pledged his government would be, instead offering “stability and moderation”. And centrism can promise reforms that are modest in scale but cumulatively uplifting: “The work of change,” he said, “begins immediately.”

The purposeful first fortnight of Britain’s first centre-left government for 14 years has pleased voters. More than twice as many expect Starmer to change the country for the better as expect him to make it worse, according to the pollster Ipsos. The fear that we are in national decline, which during the shambolic years of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak spread across the media and electorate, right- and leftwing alike, has suddenly receded a little. Other wealthy democracies no longer regard Britain as such a laughing stock.

And yet, the state of politics in many of those other democracies contains a warning for Starmer and all those who believe in his “decade of national renewal”. From Germany to Australia to the US, cautious, conscientious, in some ways Starmer-like centre-left leaders........

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