'Political Blunder or Misguided Appeal to Voters?: The Controversy of Starmer’s Thatcher Comments.”

Keir Starmer speaking at the Labour Party Conference. Image Courtesy of Flickr.

Keir Starmer has come under fire for his piece that was published in the Telegraph on Monday in which he praised Margaret Thatcher. The Labour leader wrote that the three former Prime Minister’s who have truly enacted change in Britain were Clement Atlee, Tony Blair, and Maragret Thatcher. Thatcher, according to Starmer, “sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism”. 

This has, predictably, caused outrage amongst some Labour MPs, who feel any commendation of Thatcher is a slap in the face to Northern and working class communities. It has also prompted sneers from Conservatives who believe that this blatant attempt to woo right wing voters speaks to Starmer’s lack of conviction and shows that there “isn’t a fence he won’t sit on”.

This may be controversial, but as a Northern, card-carrying Labour member, I don’t think that Starmer’s assertion that Thatcher was a strong leader who changed Britain is an offensive statement. Firstly, Starmer is not the first Labour leader to say this, as Ed Milliband, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair have all paid tribute to Thatcher, praising her as a groundbreaking political force. Secondly, Starmer did not say that he wanted to emulate Thatcher’s politics or beliefs, something he has clarified on Radio 4 since, but more her leadership style and ability to enact her plan for Britain.

It is undeniable that Margaret Thatcher had her own concrete plan for running the country, won three consecutive elections, and, whether you believe it was for better or worse, the radical change in Britain’s economy that took place in the 1980s could not have happened if she were not ruthlessly efficient. If what Starmer meant to say was that the type of government he wants to lead is one remembered for having a vision and implementing that vision across the country without obstruction, he was not wrong to cite the cases of Atlee, Thatcher, and Blair - the three most impactful administrations of the last century. However, if I were an advisor to Starmer, I would have recommended a rewording of the line about Britain’s “stupor” and “entrepreneurialism”, as it appears as if Starmer agrees with the Thatcherite view that excessive state intervention and unionism in the 1970s caused stagflation to occur, therefore justifying and applauding the mass privatisation and mass deregulation of the 1980s.

Starmer’s crime was not to recognise Thatcher as an impactful leader. What the problem is here is that after 3 years he is still making obsequious gestures to prove he isn’t in thrall to the left, which only furthers the criticism from all sides that he stands for nothing. He has been consistently 20 points ahead in the polls for the last year, and  has proven time and time again that the far-left holds no power over his party. When the incoming election is predicted to have 45% of the electorate voting Labour and around 25% voting Conservative, there simply aren’t that many floating voters left to poach. And for those who are still undecided, or whose support for Labour is only tentative, Starmer will not win them over by pandering to a right wing audience - a lot of whom will never vote for Labour even if Thatcher’s ghost was running as its leader.

Though Labour is frequently praised for its lack of complacency in the face of probable victory, by continuing to try and show himself in stark contrast to his predecessor, Starmer risks alienating left-wing cities such as Liverpool that already distrust him - for example Starmer once promised the city he would never give an interview to The Sun newspaper, and then proceeded to publish an article in it just a year later - and could themselves be wooed by Lib-Dems or Reform UK. 

Keir Starmer will gain the landslide he so desperately wants not by applauding leaders who had a vision for Britain, but offering his own strong, clear, and positive one. The country knows who he isn’t (Jeremy Corbyn), but now more than ever he needs to show them who he is.