In a very busy (and very hot) Mechanics Institute in Manchester for the formal launch of @Keir_Starmer’s campaign. Birth place of the TUC. Suspect he’s trying to tell us something... 
Starmer is going to be introduced by Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
The room is overflowing. People being turned into overspill room. Starmer: “I detect a real energy in the Labour Party right now.”
Starmer: “we need to look at each and every reason we lost the election...We need to fight to regain our heartland seats. Not just the ones we lost at this election but in previous elections too. But we’ve got to do more because if we just do that we’ll lose.”
Starmer: “We’ve list four general elections in a row. Four in a row. If we lose the next one we’ll have the longest period where Labour has been out of power since WW2. But I’ve never known a time when a radical Labour govt was so needed.”
Starmer (to applause): “the first thing we need to do is be united as a party and as a movement. We can’t fight the Tories if we’re fighting each other. Factionalism has to go. The question shouldn’t be what side are you on, it should be what are you saying?”
This adverts to one of Starmer’s biggest strengths, he’s not identifiably of one faction, everyone potentially gets something. Could also mean everyone is a bit disappointed.
Starmer: “Boris Johnson is our prime minister. Boris Johnson. That’ll take some getting used to. The man with no principle.”
Says Labour “need its most effective advocates” to take him on. Suspect he means quite literally.
Says Labour “need its most effective advocates” to take him on. Suspect he means quite literally.
Ok here’s the meat. Starmer: “Let’s get some founding principles. We are not going to trash the last Lab govt. But nor are we going to trash the last four years. Corbyn made our party the party of anti austerity and he was right to do so. We shd treat 2017 manif as founding doc.”
This is the trick Starmer is trying to pull off, not looking away from either New Labour or Corbynism but taking the best of both (and their respective advocates). Tightrope and one which with current Lab membership (and for this campaign at least) will prob favour latter.
questions from audience pretty tough; from Lab councillor: “What do you think about anti-Semitism in the party and why haven’t you mentioned it today?” Second from Lab member in Jarrow: “how are you as the architect of the 2nd ref campaign going to possibly win back trust?”
Starmer: “if you’re anti-Semitic you have no place in the Labour Party” [huge applause]. Says change “has to come from the top...I will only be satisfied with this issue when people who left our party over this issue feel comfortable to come back.”
Starmer says main issues on the doorstep was (I) leadership (ii) Brexit (iii) policy overload (iv) anti-Semitism. “Brexit exacerbated what was happening in our heartlands. It had been happening for years. Brexit made it worse.”
Some discontent in the room from (presumably) left members. Questions about his staff, “will you privatise the NHS?” Potential sign of things to come if this gets nasty.
Starmer says first thing he’ll do when elected leader “is get out on the campaign trail for the local elections in May.”
Starmer campaign has only done a few events so far. But turnout has been good. Today way over subscribed. Same with an event in north Wales yesterday with 350 people turning up.
Verdict?
Speaking to him afterwards Starmer’s clearly encouraged by the early numbers to his events. He gave a decent performance, strongest actually when improvising to the questions and passion shone best. Is pitching himself without faction, as the unity candidate.
Speaking to him afterwards Starmer’s clearly encouraged by the early numbers to his events. He gave a decent performance, strongest actually when improvising to the questions and passion shone best. Is pitching himself without faction, as the unity candidate.
Answers on defending Labour record in the round (Blair and Corbyn), speaking up against anti-Semitism and attacks on his staff especially strong.
Nonetheless, in his effort to be the unity figure, it leads to risk aversion. As a result whilst his diagnosis is solid, it makes him refrain from offering much in the way of prescription. As (likely) front runner, perhaps that’s fine. Problem is means his mandate will be limited
by potentially being all things to all people, (by definition) he also risks disappointing one faction (or more) in the end. Depends how deftly he can manage it.
There are the early glimmers of potential discontent. Very full room but a few left-wingers already not happy. Accusing him of evasion on certain issues, saying he’s filling his team with anti-Left figures. The word a few (independently) used to me afterwards was “slippery”.
Nonetheless, you can see why he’s the man to beat.
Starmer’s clearly the answer to the question of recession/major govt crisis. He is an “oven ready” prime minister. No one could dispute that. Bigger question is if that doesn’t happen, then he might struggle to break through.
Starmer’s clearly the answer to the question of recession/major govt crisis. He is an “oven ready” prime minister. No one could dispute that. Bigger question is if that doesn’t happen, then he might struggle to break through.
