The bleak fate of many Opposition leaders is to be remembered as necessary but not sufficient. Yes, they advanced the cause of their powerless parties. Their work made a difference and was essential to electoral recovery; but not so much that they themselves made it to the promised land.
Sir Keir Starmer’s speech last night ticked off yet another box on the daunting to-do list he inherited from Jeremy Corbyn when he became Labour leader in April 2020. To his great credit, he has done much to remove the stain of anti-semitism from the party. He has restored the appearance of professionalism that was sacrificed on the altar of the Left’s student politics and ideological arrogance.
