Labour’s dilemma: how to inspire a wary electorate

◆ Urging hope while staying quiet on policy and avoiding overpromising won’t be an easy strategy

Sir Keir Starmer is probably the next prime minister, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have problems.

His issues aren’t about polling, with Labour enjoying an 18-point lead, or even his own party, which so often has sought to undermine its leaders.

The Labour leader is instead fighting constant questions about what he stands for, and what – with an election now expected in the second half of this year – his policies are on a range of issues.

This was the case in the aftermath of his speech yesterday, in which Sir Keir promised to restore faith in politics, but offered no policy whatsoever.

Aides say this criticism is unfair, suggesting it is unrealistic to expect policy announcements in every speech, but the question will not go away.

In a speech heavy on rhetoric that sought to inspire people to vote Labour, the former head of the Crown Prosecution Service offered little in the way of new information.

He talked about Tory rule-breaking Britain, and claimed the Conservatives put the country into the “rocks of decline” and had been sowing division.

It was a speech that touched on his career before politics, and his values, and once again sought to reintroduce himself and his vision to voters. He was trying to encourage people to vote Labour, not just to kick the Tories out, but to kick-start a decade of renewal.

Trying to address the question of what he will do in power, Sir Keir repeated vows of higher growth; reform of the planning system; safer streets with more police; cheaper bills with the new publicly-owned GB Energy, and getting the NHS back on its feet.

Sir Keir avoided questions on tax, dodged queries on which Tory policies he’d abandon, and admitted a lack of money meant there was no point promising what he couldn’t deliver.

Despite this, the general theme of his speech was “Project Hope”, albeit with caution over what can actually be achieved. Interestingly, he used phrases like “credible hope” and “frank hope”, almost playing down expectations while appealing for support.

Given Boris Johnson’s record and the fact Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has delivered just one of his five pledges, this is likely a good strategy, as the public are suspicious of overambitious promises.

But here is Labour’s problem: It is promising to fix things but won’t elaborate on how, and urging people to hope while admitting things will be hard. Squaring that circle will be no easy task.