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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Rafael Behr

Keir Starmer is the bandage that Labour can’t rip off for fear of opening old wounds

Keir Starmer at a community centre in Hertfordshire, 10 February 2026.
Keir Starmer at a community centre in Hertfordshire, 10 February 2026. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Westminster time is counted in scandals, resignations, rebellions, U-turns and leadership crises. All the things that aren’t good government age a regime. Keir Starmer has presided over a lot of woes in 18 months, making a young government look old.

The premature decrepitude is more advanced, and more disturbing to Labour MPs, because it feels like continuity from the turbulent Tory regime that came before. The policies and personnel are different, but to the casual passing voter the sound of screaming and breaking crockery around Downing Street is familiar as a sign of a political problem family in residence.

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