On its own terms, this was one of Sir Keir Starmer’s most successful moments since becoming Labour leader in 2020.
Just in the nick of time, the prime minister delivered a speech that will steady his position in the party and arm Labour activists with new, clearer dividing lines with Reform UK. There’s nothing like finding and cauterising an enemy to get the crowd back on side.
He attacked “snake oil merchants” on the left and right – allowing some to question whether that is a category which includes Andy Burnham.
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And he worked out his principle policy attack on Reform UK: the plan to rip up the settled status of people who have lived in Britain for decades.
In a move that one senior Labour figure described as a “One Nation Labour” credo, he gave a more credible account of his credentials as a champion of working people than he has managed in the past by invoking his family.
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Rather than pretend that the Oxford-educated barrister could play the role of a working-class hero, he pointed to the struggles of his father, brother and sister to emphasise he understands the lives of those outside the north London seat he represents.
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Cabinet reacts to Starmer speech
The politics are striking. Sir Keir’s team tell me that the speech was aimed at those in Middle England who are tempted by Reform UK.
But in an apparent change, it was also a speech that went down well with the soft left, who have been disappointed by Sir Keir for much of the year.
Rather than moving into Reform UK territory, he spelt out why they were wrong in a set piece that might succeed in its aim of stopping the drift away of voters from Labour to the Lib Dems, Greens and others on the left.
Yet for all of its success, the biggest issue in British politics was ignored. There continues to be a £20-30 billion black hole, which will define this year in British politics, yet this was not mentioned at all.
There was a brief sort of acknowledgement of the need for fiscal rules – a lack of financial responsibility would hit working people, he argued.
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He also noted that businesses paid a lot in tax, though it was not clear that this amounted to a promise not to tax them further. But there was none of the pitch rolling for what continues to look like a massive moment at the budget on 26 November.
Cabinet ministers say that there was a more urgent task of shoring him up and setting a direction to be done, that trumped the need to dwell on this impending problem.
The issue is whether it marks a wider change in his premiership. The challenge for Sir Keir has always been whether he can execute policy that will change people’s lives.
His approach – the high-level chairman rather than interventionist chief executive – does not always yield the real change of his rhetoric. This will need to change for this government to truly be a success.
