What’s Labour’s governing philosophy? That was the question posed at a dinner I went to with some MPs and former staffers during the party’s annual conference in Liverpool last week. Is Keir Starmer more influenced by the communitarian blend of leftwing economics and socially conservative values that is “blue Labour”, or is he driven by the Fabian democratic socialism that was at the heart of his campaign to become Labour leader?
A prime minister’s motivating beliefs are always pored over by those interested in what direction a particular government might take. But in this case I’m not sure how much it matters, because there is a third governing philosophy dominating Labour that renders almost everything else moot. Fiscal conservatism.
