Sir Keir Starmer’s authority is fading. His poll ratings, and Labour’s, are disastrous. Key lieutenants are departing. With Labour conference looming, the talk is less about governing than about whether Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is positioning himself for the top job. In this context, Sir Keir’s speech on Friday to fellow centre-left leaders deserves close attention. It was continuity dressed as renewal: capital behind the wheel, social policy just along for the ride.
Tellingly, Sir Keir invoked “abundance” – the buzzword of American supply-side liberals and title of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s eponymous book. In Washington, it is the banner for centrists who pin prosperity on deregulation, rapid infrastructure rollout and market-led growth, with redistribution an afterthought. Sir Keir rebranded it “social democracy”. This was some chutzpah: a rallying cry from a civil war inside America’s Democratic party dressed up as Britain’s progressive future.
