A politician praising a predecessor provides a heavy hint on how they intend to govern, but Keir Starmer’s new found enthusiasm for Margaret Thatcher is a tactical play. His ultimate role model is a very different leader — not the grocer’s grammar school daughter but the shy and underwhelming Clement Attlee.
In many ways Sir Keir Starmer had little choice when seeking a successful role model. Only three Labour leaders have won a general election since the Second World War. All three were white, heterosexual men, educated at selective schools and at Oxford. Two went to private schools and two were barristers. The choice when seeking a close parallel was therefore down to Tony Blair or Clement Attlee. Blair, born and raised in Edinburgh, got the top job aged just 43. Lord Attlee, like Sir Keir, was brought up in Surrey and was 62 when he became PM — the age the current Labour leader is now.
