Why making Keir Starmer the latest 'human sacrifice' won't solve Britain's problems
Keir Starmer must adopt a bold, radical agenda at home and move the UK closer to the European Union, with a view to eventually rejoining, writes Henry McLeish
In this era of division and rancour, politics needs radical reform. We cannot continue to deal with only the symptoms and ignore the deep-seated, long-term and apparently intractable issues that have reduced Britain to an unproductive, hate-filled country at war with itself.
Is Britain “broken”, “not working” or even a “failed state”? Is this country’s governance not fit for purpose? If so, how will bringing down another Prime Minister change anything? We seem focussed on revenge and retribution, pretending to ourselves that the occasional ‘human sacrifice’, as in ancient civilisations, will cleanse the political soul and place us on a path to some nirvana. It won’t.
Yet this is the gospel of naïve short-termism that we cling to. In a world of increasing uncertainty, global disorder, terrifying injustices and Donald Trump, faith in miracles is not a strategy.
Farage doesn’t have the answers
The rise of Reform, led by Nigel Farage, who is being touted as the next Prime Minister, represents the ultimate nightmare. It is the product of the disintegration of trust in politics and a step towards chaos and the dark politics of the hard men of our age, like Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Viktor Orban.
Farage is a wake-up call, not a solution. We will find ourselves perilously close to a breakdown in government at all levels if we continue to cover up our historic failings and place the blame on just another Prime Minister.
Keir Starmer may or may not be the ideal person for the job. His removal may bring some short-term satisfaction and act as soothing balm for some in the Parliamentary Labour Party, who are operating under the questionable belief that the party has a treasure trove of possible leaders waiting to be anointed.
Starmer and his government have made mistakes and missteps in policy, messaging, political management. Serious shortcomings and self-inflicted wounds have fed a public and press frenzy, amid an insatiable desire for controversy.
READ MORE: SNP need to accept their independence drive is going nowhere and is holding Scotland back
First-past-the post makes no sense
The toxicity of our politics requires radical reform of how governments work so that democracy better reflects the views of the electorate. It is worth arguing again and again that the first-past-the-post system – which provided Labour with a landslide of Common seats after they won the support of just 19 per cent of all eligible voters – makes no sense.
It is unrepresentative of our remarkably diverse country and is now a source of instability. Coalitions, consensus and cooperation are words we seemingly shall not speak. Why?
There is no shortage of innovative ways to move Britain forward. Gordon Brown, the former Prime Minister, has made a number of wide-ranging recommendations for UK Government reform, including the abolition of the House of Lords, which would be replaced by an elected chamber, banning most MP second jobs, strengthening standards of integrity in public life, and overhauling economic strategy with a greater focus on the nations and regions.
‘Wilful ignorance off the scale’
Writing in The New World magazine, Alistair Campbell, a former Labour spokesman and now an incisive political commentator, warned of the “most depressing thought of all” that “because of the nature of our politics, the quality of people going into politics, the nihilism of the mainstream media, the anarchy of social media, with dissonance, hypocrisy, short-termism, naivety, industrialised rage and wilful ignorance off the scale, we are becoming ungovernable.”
He added that “neither the parties nor the public are really prepared to face up to the big things that need to happen to turn this country round, given the sheer scale of real problems we actually face”.
In his book Failed State, Sam Freedman, argues Starmer has “comprehensively failed to tackle the short-termism induced by an announcement culture that sees day-to-day management of the media as more important than proper policy development.” Has the media become too intrusive, too powerful?
There should be a ‘four nations’ approach to government, but the Prime Minister often assumes a presidential approach, taking too much on himself, posting too many Union Jacks in corners of the media room and forgetting that more Britishness is not necessarily a vote winner in places where local identities are strong. A rewiring of the British state, as once suggested by Starmer, is long overdue.
Sarwar’s frustrations
Anas Sarwar’s criticisms and call for Starmer to quit should be seen in the context of his profound anger, frustration and irritation that, after performing so well, his prospects in May could be undermined by the reaction of Scots to the Westminster government’s performance.
Devolution isn’t job done. Scotland should be taken more seriously at Westminster. Scotland is not just another part of the UK. There must be a new phase of devolution with new powers and new thinking for Scottish Labour to strengthen its challenge to the SNP. Labour must cast off concerns about being too Scottish and push for a radical future within a federal UK.
Disrespect across the dispatch boxes in the Commons is ever present and the Parliamentary Labour Party has become more rebellious and harder to manage. Labour MPs, particularly new ones, should remember that self-discipline and loyalty are important.
Taking on those holding Britain back
Amid all the sound and fury, the PM is getting little credit for his work on foreign policy, defence, Ukraine, and Nato. Yet on these issues, he is leading.
Starmer must move Britain closer to the European Union, with a view to eventually becoming a full member of the EU once again. This is the scale of ambition required for success.
Labour must have a radical, relevant and reforming agenda. It is time to take on those holding Britain back, to fight against racism and populism, and to push for electoral reform, a federal Britain and more progressive taxation, while always remembering that wise political mantra that “it’s the economy, stupid!”
Henry McLeish is a former First Minister of Scotland who served as a Labour MP and MSP
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.