The job of prime minister is one that few envy – save for grifters, those with a greed for power or the odd do-gooder.
In fact, despite the general distain for them in this country of proud moaners, politicians in general do a tough job.
There are few other vocations where a person is scrutinised so meticulously on how they look, speak, spend their money or just eat a bacon sandwich.
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The most minute detail can be the difference between an entire nation tolerating you, or casting you to the depths of YouGov’s favourability poll.
So, it’s no surprise that Starmer is under the microscope, especially in the current volatile political landscape.
But how – in a country that has seen the Suez Crisis, mass privatisation, the rapid growth of wealth inequality, the ‘Dodgy Dossier’, the Windrush Scandal, the £1.4bn mis-management of PPE contracts, Partygate, LIZ TRUSS, the Rwanda deportations scheme (just to name a few) – have we become so short-sighted to now be calling Keir Starmer the worst prime minister EVER who has to go?
Look, Starmer might not last the week, or even the next 24 hours, as Labour MPs call for his resignation and challengers line up his position, but no saga ends without a highlight reel.
And, Starmer’s highlights have definitely done enough to earn him the chance to stand firm and defend his position.
Policy fulfilment
Look, of course, becoming a good prime minister and party leader is more than just fulfilling policy, it can also be foreign affairs, the general state of the economy, or just how the person in question is perceived.
However, it is undeniable that the number of policies a government has fulfilled is a solid yardstick of a government’s performance – really it should be the most important one as an elected representative of the people.
Fortunately for us, such a yardstick exists on news-checking site Full Fact known as ‘Government Tracker’.
The site lists all 92 pledges that Labour ran on before being electing into power on 4 July 2024 and judges to what extent they have been fulfilled.
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We are almost two years into this Labour mandate and, as per Full Fact, the government has already delivered 21 (23 per cent) of these 92 pledges.
Meanwhile, 17 of these policies ‘appear on track’ while another 23 are ‘in progress’.
Out of these 92 pledges, just six are ‘off track’ and another six have not been kept – another four remain disputed.
With this in mind, it means Labour have already delivered, or are in the process of delivering, 61 (66%) of their 92 key pledges. And they’re not even half way through their five-year term.
Now, compare these stats to those of the Tories from between 2017 and 2021 and these numbers look even better.
A study from the University of Manchester in collaboration with Civic Tech Platform GovTracker, which was published in 2019, found that the Conservatives failed to fulfil half of their 2017 manifesto pledges after applying a weighting system.
The study said that “the Conservatives fulfilled a large proportion of the promises that the academics’ weighting system classified as ‘less important’.”
It listed the five most central Conservative promises, of which four were not fulfilled (EU policies not fulfilled until the next government):
- Leave the EU (broken)
- Reduce annual net migration to under 100,000 (broken)
- Leave the EU’s Customs Union (broken)
- Introduce a bill making preparations for setting up new trade deals after Brexit (fulfilled)
- Leave the EU’s single market (broken)
Meanwhile, in 2021, a study by the Institute for Government found that over half (55%) of the Conservative government’s manifesto pledges were completed or on track two year’s into Boris Johnson’s government – respectable, but still lagging behind supposedly the worst prime minister ever.
Just as a rather humorous side note, while Labour have already fulfilled 21 pledges, Reform don’t even have more than 20 policies in their entire manifesto – makes you think.
Did we all just forget the Tories?
Seeing as out of the last 16 years the Conservative party has been in power for 14 of them, maybe people need reminding that it’s not the party that has been in power for barely two years that are responsible for all of this mess.
The foundations were laid along time ago by the Tories. Just look at Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget, a Budget which was prefaced by highlighting “broken public finances” and “broken public services” from the previous Tory governments.
Much of the Budget was centred around filling an estimated £22bn “black hole” in public finances allegedly left by the Tories – although this number has been disputed.
Either way, it’s safe to say the economy wasn’t exactly in the best shape when Labour took over. Since then, there’s been plenty of evidence and data to suggest that the government were doing a decent enough job at turning the ship around – before Donald Trump’s war in Iran got in the way of things.
Beyond the economic mess the Conservative party left, have we also forgotten the small matter of their handling of the Covid pandemic.
The Tories were slammed in the Covid inquiry released in November last year which highlighted “too little, too late” was done to prevent cases spreading and spoke of “toxic and chaotic” culture inside Boris Johnson’s No. 10.
The inquiry also said that, had lockdown been implemented a week earlier, 23,000 lives could have been saved.
That’s before we even get onto the scandal of Partygate, when Tory politicians wined and dined as we sat indoors watching relatives die.
After this we had the sleaze and lies of Boris Johnson, Liz Truss’ disastrous 45-day tenure and ‘mini-budget’, the £700m Rwanda deportation scheme which only saw four people removed and a cost of living crisis.
And of course, there’s the massive, economy-destroying, blue-passport carrying elephant in the room – Brexit, an initiative started by one Tory and bundled over the line by another.
Honestly this list is almost endless and we’d all be bored out of our minds if we continued.
Starmer’s shortcomings
Let’s be honest, this time next year – or even next month – Keir Starmer is unlikely to still be in charge of the country with around 80 Labour MPs calling for his resignation as of writing with that number set to grow.
The Peter Mandelson scandal has dogged Starmer for months, winter fuel payment cuts within months of gaining power were wildly unpopular and a massive political misjudgement, and constant U-turns are never good for a leader’s reputation.
But, to call Starmer the worst PM ever is a flagrant denial of those who have trodden the path before him.
Not much choice elsewhere
Even if people Starmer hasn’t done enough to earn him more time in charge, what is the alternative?
The same people shouting ‘Starmer out’ will be the same ones saying that Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner and the rest of his cabinet are worse alternatives.
At the end of the day this is exactly what Labour’s opposition wants, a fractious government because it obviously plays into their favour.
The same opposition that has lamented Starmer for his ‘weak leadership’ will now be criticising him for ‘not taking the hint’.
So, the PM might as well hold his ground because the alternative is complete turmoil.
Defiance as a mark of a strong leader
If David Cameron, Theresa May and Boris Johnson all could manage longer terms in power with all their controversies, then Starmer is at least owned the chance to give defiance a shot.
In fact, Starmer’s stubbornness is more in keeping with his character.
Look at his stance on the war in Iran. He already deserves praise Starmer for not getting the UK involved in the Iran conflict which seems to have no end, and his choice to stand firm with European allies over Ukraine.
If anything, Starmer has shown himself to be defiant in the face of controversy. If he can get himself out of this sour pickle, he’ll certainly find himself in a stronger position than before – and he’s earned the opportunity to prove that he can do it.