While it might be true that Tony Blair was the right leader in the right circumstances to win a landslide against the Tories in 1997, essentially its success was due to the powerful undertow created by the electorate’s disgust at Tory sleaze and a belief that things should be better. It is the public mood that a party needs to assess and then recast in order to achieve cut-through and gain votes. So, when John Harris focuses on Keir Starmer’s deficiencies as an inspiring leader, he is looking at Labour’s dilemma with one eye shut (If Keir Starmer doesn’t seize the moment now, then what is his party for?, 27 March).
Labour’s attempts at building a counternarrative to whatever the Tory project is will be a waste of time as voters can see it as reactive, not least in the deadening language of abstraction and euphemism. Instead, framing a viable alternative and vigorously and relentlessly pushing it forward plays to Labour’s strengths. Speaking of misery being perpetuated, and not of challenges to be met, would help.
