Tories can’t find links to former party Leader and they hate it,
(Daily Mirror text)
Next week marks the first anniversary of Keir Starmer's election as
Labour leader.
It was Starmer's misfortune that he took over a bruised and demoralised
party at the height of a pandemic.
Stamping your mark as the leader of the opposition is hard enough at the
best of times but it is especially challenging when the public was calling on
political leaders to work together in the national interest.
While navigating this tricky situation Starmer set himself two goals: to demonstrate that Labour was under new management and to start the long, arduous task of rebuilding the party's support.
The first he has accomplished reasonably well.
Boris Johnson's attempts at PMQs to link Starmer to the old leadership
are unconvincing because the change is so obvious.
This has not been entirely painless. The left, understandably, are
defensive of Corbyn's record and feel slighted.
There is criticism that Starmer, by trying to reach out to people who
don't already vote for Labour, which is generally a good idea for parties that
wish to win elections, is taking the left of the party for granted.
These grumbles have grown deeper as Labour struggles to eat into the
Conservatives' stubbornly resilient poll lead.
Starmer passes what George Osborne has described as the Camp David test
– he looks like a Prime Minister in waiting – but there are questions about his
ability to inspire.
As the Times noted recently, when he was a lawyer he was deemed better
in front of the judge than in front of the jury.
The leader's office is sanguine about the progress so far.
This primarily because of the way the pandemic has disrupted the
political weather patterns.
The national conservation has been dominated by lockdowns, jab rates,
travel plans and pub passports.
Starmer has not yet had the opportunity to address a packed party
conference hall, denying him the chance to speak to the party faithful and the
stage on which to introduce himself to the public.
Allies argue people do not know him because they have not yet had the
chance to meet him.
