It’s a mandate to do politics differently, Keir Starmer announced after the general election. After the chaos of the Conservative years, those were truly welcome words. Some said it made them feel as though the grownups were back in charge. But now, six weeks on, that turns out not to be so true.
Everybody needs a holiday. A proper holiday. A break from routine. A chance to relax, and focus on other people and other things. Prime ministers unquestionably need such moments, too – perhaps more than most. Yet by first postponing and now, it appears, by cancelling his family summer holiday in Europe, Starmer has made holidays a reputational issue. Starmer the human being has lost out to Starmer the politician. It is his first serious mistake.
