History will be kinder to Sir Keir Starmer than public opinion in recent months
The writing was on the wall for Sir Keir Starmer and he had no choice but to fall on his sword. This newspaper yesterday called on the Government to ensure the transfer of power takes place without fuss and blunder and that is exactly the course Starmer has set.
It was refreshing to see a clearly defeated PM step down with grace and dignity, which has not always been the case in recent years. Starmer had heard the mood music and realised he was simply not in tune anymore.
History will be kinder to Starmer than public opinion has been in recent months. That is not to say that he has not made mistakes as Prime Minister. In fact there have been far too many missteps over just two years in office.
The Government managed to alienate pensioners with cuts to the winter fuel allowance, farmers over inheritance tax changes and its own backbenchers through proposals to cut the welfare budget.
While Margaret Thatcher was the lady “not for turning”, Starmer became U-turn impending.
Starmer came in with promises of good judgement and probity. Instead, his premiership was marred with errors in judgement, from the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as the Ambassador to the US to the Sue Grey affair.
Despite pledging to end infighting, briefings and counter-briefings became a common theme of the Starmer Government. As Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said, the public is “impatient” for change. And that has been one of the greatest frustrations of Starmer’s premiership. His most recent policy announcement was the social media ban, a move that would be widely popular. But the public is still awaiting details as to how it would work.
What even his most ardent critics cannot deny is that Starmer was a proud public servant.