From the promise of stability to the fight for survival

Keir Starmer was once hailed as a leader who would bring pragmatism and stability to Britain after years of political chaos. But the very lack of ideology that brought him to power has left him fighting for political survival after less than two years in office, Reuters reports.

After leading the Labour Party to power in 2024 with one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern British history, Starmer has prioritized the politics of the possible, rather than clearly outlining a vision for Britain's future.

This, according to more than 20 party insiders, has left the former human rights lawyer under fire from rival factions within the Labour Party and misunderstood by wavering voters, with many giving the impression that he is indecisive and lacking charisma.

Now, deeply unpopular with voters for what they see as broken promises and policy reversals, Starmer faces the most serious crisis of his tenure, sparked by the Labour Party's complete defeat in last week's local council elections in England and the parliaments of Scotland and Wales.

At yesterday's cabinet meeting, he said he would continue the fight, but a growing number of Labour MPs are calling on him to set a deadline for his departure, stating that they cannot lead him into the national elections, which are due to be held in 2029.

Starmer's government inherited a difficult situation in July 2024 - high debt and weak economic growth, collapsed public services and a campaign promise not to increase income tax or VAT, which left it with little fiscal room for maneuver.

However, as Reuters writes, his policies have fallen apart too often almost from the start, with resignations and changes in his team, and the remaining trusted aides around him have struggled to help him offer the country a clear story about what his government wants to do to "change Britain."

Catherine West, an MP who spoke out over the weekend to encourage others to oppose Starmer, said her main motivation was the fear that Labour, if led by Starmer in the next national election, could pave the way for a victory for Nigel Farage's populist Reform UK party, one of the main advocates of Brexit.

"I would do anything to stop Farage," she told Reuters.

After becoming a Labour MP in 2015, at the age of 52, Starmer was elected leader of the party just five years later, taking over after its worst election result since 1935 under the leadership of veteran leftist Jeremy Corbyn.

He used his experience as head of the Crown Prosecution Service, a public agency that advises police and conducts criminal prosecutions, to try to modernise the Labour Party and make it more acceptable to voters.

"Everything we offer will be based on a solid foundation of economic stability and a growth plan," his spokesman said at the time.

Reuters reports that it initially worked. Labour, reshaped by Starmer, won a clear majority in the 650-seat British parliament, but analysts were quick to point out that the party's victory was wide but shallow, and that Labour actually won one of the lowest vote shares in its history, and the triumph depended largely on tactical voting.

Catherine West says her main motive is the fear that Labour, if led by Starmer in the next national election, could pave the way for Nigel Farage's party to win.

After years of internal strife, battles over Brexit and five prime ministers in eight years, the Conservatives have almost collapsed on their own.

"Overall, this looks more like an election the Conservatives lost than an election Labour won," said John Curtis, Britain's most famous pollster.

Starting from a fragile foundation, Starmer was not helped by his government's cautious approach to policy, nor by the narrative that solving Britain's many problems - from housing shortages to anemic growth - would take time.

In power, Starmer's government first had trouble defining its political program, and then implementing it: growth continued to falter, illegal migrants continued to arrive, and a creaking health system brought new challenges.

Darren Jones, the chief finance secretary in Starmer's government, practically admitted to a parliamentary committee in December that Labour was not sufficiently prepared to take power, explaining that in opposition they had diverted limited resources to the election campaign.

And several ministers said the situation was made worse by previous conservative governments leaving a hole in public finances due to heavy borrowing to cushion the effects of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Starmer tried to highlight his government's successes - improving working conditions, shortening waiting lists in the health system and an economic environment that has allowed interest rates to fall.

But despite several attempts at a fresh start, one former aide said Starmer's approach still failed to offer a "point of reference" from which voters could understand his decisions or see meaning in them.

Instead, many voters see no further than the donation gaffes, policy reversals and the appointment of Labour veteran Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, despite his known links to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted American sex offender.

Reuters writes that frustration in his Downing Street office has become increasingly palpable, although some aides blame what they say is a hostile right-wing media.

He lost some of his closest advisers, including former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, due to the Mandelson scandal, and after he dismissed the most senior official at the Foreign Office, his relations with the British civil service also deteriorated, the analysis states.

Starmer has achieved better results on the international stage.

When it came to Russia's war in Ukraine, he was praised by some European leaders for helping to lead a "coalition of the willing" - a group of countries willing to help in the event of a peace deal. Along with French President Emmanuel Macron, he also tried to lead talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz amid the standoff with Iran.

He also had some initial success in winning over US President Donald Trump, offering him a second state visit to Britain and praising his efforts to bring peace to Ukraine and end other conflicts.

However, this was soon replaced by a barrage of mockery from the American leader, who said he was "no Winston Churchill" after Starmer refused to drag Britain into a war against Iran.

Domestically, his term was marked by the fragmentation of Britain's traditional two-party system. Populist challengers from Reform UK gained a strong foothold across the country, while the Greens also made progress on the left.

While Labour Party membership has plummeted, Reform UK membership has surged, with more than 270.000 members. Reuters points out that Starmer had hoped that this very threat would provide him with support, telling Labour in February that the fight against Reform UK was "the fight of our lives."

Three months later, he faces the struggle to stay in that fight at all.