Another Future Is Possible for Keir Starmer's Government
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"I believe another future is possible", declared Keir Starmer as he launched his campaign to become the next Labour leader back in 2020.
Promising to make "the moral case for socialism", Starmer pledged to heal the division of the Corbyn years and unite his party behind a clear plan for radical, but deliverable change.
Fast forward to 2025 and that alternative future is still looking a long way off.
Despite making some early and welcome changes - boosting investment in green energy, committing to nationalise the rail network, and increasing workers rights - Starmer has spent most of his first 12 months as Prime Minister engaged in arguments that more closely resemble the political era he was elected to overturn.
Far from making the moral case for investment, after a decade of austerity, the Prime Minister has instead spent his first year in Government making the case for yet more cruel and self-defeating cuts. And far from building the "immigration system based on compassion and dignity" that he promised, he has instead doubled down on the ugly rhetoric and undignified immigration clampdowns of his predecessors.
'Keir Starmer Has Missed His Chance to Make a Bold Break With the Past on Foreign Policy'
The Labour Government has so far pursued a timid, unambitious, foreign policy, marked by inconsistency and in some cases moral failure, argues Alexandra Hall Hall
Alexandra Hall Hall
The internal division that so defined the series of Conservative governments that preceded him, has also continued, with overly powerful advisers locked in internal warfare almost from day one of his premiership. His election day pledge to lead a "Government of service" - badly needed after a decade of cronyism and outright corruption under the Conservatives - ran immediately into rows about freebies from donors and cash for access.
Beseiged at home by a hostile press and an increasingly hostile parliamentary party, Starmer has often looked far more comfortable representing the country abroad. Here he has had much more success. Unlike Boris Johnson, who was more interested in cosplaying as "world king" than doing the hard miles of international diplomacy, Starmer has worked doggedly to secure Donald Trump's support for Ukraine and NATO, while starting to heal the divide between Europe and Britain that opened up after Brexit.
It has not all been positive. His reluctance to condemn Israel's genocidal ambitions in Gaza, or to cut off UK arms supplies to the country, has made a mockery of his campaign pledge to "put human rights at the heart of foreign policy", while his closeness to an increasingly authoritarian US president has too often veered into the sycophantic.
Yet his performance abroad has shown glimpses of the Prime Minister Starmer could have been and
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
"I believe another future is possible", declared Keir Starmer as he launched his campaign to become the next Labour leader back in 2020.
Promising to make "the moral case for socialism", Starmer pledged to heal the division of the Corbyn years and unite his party behind a clear plan for radical, but deliverable change.
Fast forward to 2025 and that alternative future is still looking a long way off.
Despite making some early and welcome changes - boosting investment in green energy, committing to nationalise the rail network, and increasing workers rights - Starmer has spent most of his first 12 months as Prime Minister engaged in arguments that more closely resemble the political era he was elected to overturn.
Far from making the moral case for investment, after a decade of austerity, the Prime Minister has instead spent his first year in Government making the case for yet more cruel and self-defeating cuts. And far from building the "immigration system based on compassion and dignity" that he promised, he has instead doubled down on the ugly rhetoric and undignified immigration clampdowns of his predecessors.
'Keir Starmer Has Missed His Chance to Make a Bold Break With the Past on Foreign Policy'
The Labour Government has so far pursued a timid, unambitious, foreign policy, marked by inconsistency and in some cases moral failure, argues Alexandra Hall Hall
Alexandra Hall Hall
The internal division that so defined the series of Conservative governments that preceded him, has also continued, with overly powerful advisers locked in internal warfare almost from day one of his premiership. His election day pledge to lead a "Government of service" - badly needed after a decade of cronyism and outright corruption under the Conservatives - ran immediately into rows about freebies from donors and cash for access.
Beseiged at home by a hostile press and an increasingly hostile parliamentary party, Starmer has often looked far more comfortable representing the country abroad. Here he has had much more success. Unlike Boris Johnson, who was more interested in cosplaying as "world king" than doing the hard miles of international diplomacy, Starmer has worked doggedly to secure Donald Trump's support for Ukraine and NATO, while starting to heal the divide between Europe and Britain that opened up after Brexit.
It has not all been positive. His reluctance to condemn Israel's genocidal ambitions in Gaza, or to cut off UK arms supplies to the country, has made a mockery of his campaign pledge to "put human rights at the heart of foreign policy", while his closeness to an increasingly authoritarian US president has too often veered into the sycophantic.
Yet his performance abroad has shown glimpses of the Prime Minister Starmer could have been and
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