Starmer: Tories hard opponents to pin down
LABOUR has previously “tied its own arms behind its back”, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he admitted the Tories were difficult opponents to pin down in a 12,000-word essay setting the direction of his party.
The Labour leader said his party was consumed by “self-doubt and navel gazing” and pointed to the Tory party’s ability to modernise as an obstacle to him becoming Prime Minister.
Sir Keir today sets out his plan for Labour after the pandemic, ahead of the first in-person party conference for two years, which begins this weekend. Accusing his colleagues of focusing on internal issues, Sir Keir wrote in an essay for the Fabian Society that disputes over Tony Blair’s legacy has meant Labour “felt like separate families living under one roof.
“The strength of the Tory party is in no small part due to its ability to shed its skin,” he wrote.
“The Conservatives are not an easy opponent to pin down – and even less so when Labour has tied its own arms behind its back.”
He also called for Labour to embrace a “contribution society” in which businesses and the state worked together – recalling David Cameron’s 2010 Big Society initiative.
“I believe we are living through a time when the individualism that prioritises personal entitlement, moral superiority and self-interest is receding in society’s rear-view mirror,” he wrote.
His essay is a warning shot to Labour members who are criticising him over a plan to change the rules of the party’s leadership elections.
Just 24 hours after announcing plans to abolish the “one member, one vote” (OMOV) system used to elect Labour leaders, Sir Keir admitted yesterday he might water down his proposals or delay them.
Left-wing MPS have suggested Sir Keir should make the rule changes a confidence issue, and trigger a leadership election if he wishes to continue with them.
Several of the most powerful trade unions including Unite, Labour’s biggest funder, are opposed to the idea of returning to an “electoral college” – the system used before Ed Miliband’s tenure as party leader.
Sir Keir’s team had hoped reform of the system could be pushed through at this year’s party conference, which begins on Saturday. It is thought that an electoral college would favour moderate candidates and prevent the rise of another hard-left leader.
The electoral college system gives members, unions and Labour MPS each a third of the votes in a leadership election.
Under the current system, every individual person in the Labour movement gets one vote.
Sir Keir’s first in-person Labour conference has been billed by some as a “Kinnock moment” where he will take on Corbynites he believes make the party unelectable.