“I just trusted what Starmer said during the election”, muttered one. “I never thought he’d lie”, said another. “They’ve really let me down”, moaned a third.
Keir Starmer fooled Labour voters into thinking he was different (Image: PA)
These are words I heard just last week from people who voted Labour on July 4, all for the first time. Yes, they were keen to boot out the Tories, and I don’t blame them, but all assumed they’d be getting something different and better from Keir and co. They bought what they were sold. They did what they were told.
My, how the scales have fallen from their eyes. Look at any metric you like and you’ll see how Labour’s poll ratings have plummeted, and the prime minister’s personal ratings are in free fall. Here’s one for you: Keir Stamer’s approval is now down by a massive 45 points from when he walked into Number 10 just two and a half months ago.
And another: it took just 70 days for this government to score its first sub-30 percent poll rating. By my reckoning, it took Tony Blair’s seven years.
And why did those first-time Labour buyers expect anything more from our new Prime Minister? Didn’t they notice his flipflopping? Couldn’t they see how he deceived Labour members during the 2020 leadership contest, reversing everything he’d promised immediately after he’d secured their vote? And when he stood in front of loads of “Change” placards during the election campaign, didn’t they ask themselves what exactly would change and how?
Keir Starmer and co repeatedly trumpet ‘change’ (Image: PA)
Having romped home to victory with an enormous majority, albeit on only a third of the vote, even I thought Labour might enjoy a few months of honeymoon before reality struck. But no. This Government is already abysmal, talking down the economy, alienating international investors, taking money off pensioners to give yet more to over-paid train drivers as a reward for striking, rowing back on much-needed free-speech legislation, cancelling Rwanda without anything to put in its place, failing to persuade Biden to give Ukraine the weapons it needs, and all the while taking eye-watering amounts of freebies from rich donors.
That’s before we get to next month’s budget, which is bound to leave us paying far more tax, something Mr Starmer repeatedly denied before the election.
I knew they’d be bad. I said so endlessly, and copped a load of abuse for my trouble. But they have been worse than my wildest nightmares, and far worse than a pretty ghastly Tory administration. It just goes to show: a Conservative government might be awful, but a Labour government can always be worse.
Well, it’s too late now. Having fooled the voters with that “Change” baloney, and having convinced the gullible that they are somehow a party of integrity and probity (stop laughing please) Labour is ensconced in power for at least five years.
All we can do is trust that when 2029 comes around the voters won’t just boot them out but also learn the lessons: first, never believe politicians who boast about their integrity (all of us are sinners). Secondly, remember that both stretches of Labour government in the last half a century ended in disaster (the Winter of Discontent in 1979 and deep recession in 2009-10). And thirdly, never get taken in by the codswallop that a left-leaning and self-styled “progressive” government is somehow morally and ethically superior.
After the shambles of 1979 and 2010 it took Labour, respectively, 18 years and 14 years to get back into power. The voters repented. Remember that on election night in five years’ time, if you’re on the centre-right. However bleak things seem now, it can all switch around very rapidly.
SEE MORE :
Labour civil war erupts as Keir Starmer’s own Cabinet demands he ‘gets a grip’ of party
Sir Keir Starmer must “get a grip” of Labour’s civil war and end infighting amongst aides, Cabinet ministers believe.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer rehearses his speech to the Labour Party conference (Image: PA
The Prime Minister is facing calls to intervene in the row over Sue Gray’s £170,000 salary, which has infuriated other advisors.
Sir Keir is being urged to “create a moment” to prevent infighting between the rival factions in Downing Street.
The minister said: “Keir has to get a grip. He never resolved in opposition who’s in charge, who has his voice.”
The rows at the heart of Downing Street and the freebies scandal have rocked Sir Keir’s premiership and created questions over how prepard they were to form a Government.
And Sir Keir is being urged to involve himself in more decisions, such as on spending, rather than leaving that to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer rehearses his keynote speech (Image: PA)
Sue Gray’s salary has infuriated Labour aides (Image: Getty)
They added that hiring more staff in Downing Street could reduce tensions.
The revelation about Gray’s pay — resulting from leaks at the heart of Downing Street — has laid bare the extent of ill-feeling among advisers inside the government, who feel “insulted” with “offensively low” salary offers.
“It’s going to get worse. Now people are talking and comparing pay,” said one aide.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting joked that Sir Keir’s embattled senior aide Sue Gray also “shot JFK” and was “hiding Lord Lucan” amid a continuing row over her salary.
The health secretary made light of suggestions of mounting acrimony at the heart of government as he spoke at an event on the sidelines of the Labour party conference in Liverpool.
Speaking to a crowd at the gathering hosted by thinktank Labour Together, Streeting said: “I want to welcome the BBC’s conviction that no one should be paid more than the prime minister, that no one should receive hospitality, and that we should judge performance on social media mentions.
“Be careful what we wish for, comrades.”
He added: “It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Sue Gray is hiding Lord Lucan and shot JFK, and I can’t even tell you what she did to Shergar. I don’t know how we’re going to recover from this, frankly.”
In recent weeks, Gray has been the subject of a series of anonymous briefings signalling discontent within Downing Street just weeks into the new administration.
Leaks about her £170,000 salary have contributed to reports of a fractious atmosphere inside No 10 less than three months after Labour came to power.
