How conservative is Labour?
Keir Starmer's party triumphed in the general election despite prioritising 'wealth creation and growth, not redistribution'
![Photo composite of Labour politicians Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner, Rachel Reeves and David Lammy alongside road signs indicating 'no left turn' and 'right turn only'](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VkYJfxqkTxXcVNMFHmXTcn-415-80.jpg)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves made growth the new Labour government's "national mission" in a speech at the Treasury today.
After the socialist leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour under Keir Starmer has been "rebuilt as a business-friendly centrist party", said Philip Aldrick on Bloomberg, and its answer to the UK's "myriad problems" is delivering economic growth. Yet, its manifesto suggested that it "will largely stick to existing Tory spending plans".
In this "age of consensus", Labour's "fundamental criticism of the Tories is their lack of competence, rather than their policies", said David Edgerton, professor of modern history at King's College London, in The Guardian. "The whole premise of Keir Starmer's Labour is precisely that it needed to hug Tory dogma tight, perhaps to the point that it believes it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What did the commentators say?
Labour has been "telling Britain it is now a conservative party – and we should believe it". It claims to be "the party of wealth creation and growth, not redistribution or equality", said Edgerton, and does not seem to "differentiate between good and bad types of business – all business is good". Even Brexit is accepted.
Starmer's working-class background was frequently highlighted on the campaign trail, yet his party's manifesto failed to win endorsement from Unite, historically Labour's biggest trade union backer, ahead of the election.
The party's focus on class and private education might simply be "a way of signalling that their hearts are in the right place and they're left-wing, while actually pursuing an economic policy that's pretty fiscally conservative", said Rory Stewart on "The Rest is Politics" podcast.
Just like "49-day Tory PM Liz Truss before him, Starmer has based his entire strategy on Britain achieving significantly higher economic growth", said Politico. In a bid to achieve this, Reeves today overturned the Tories' decision to water down its own compulsory house-building targets. A 2019 pledge to build 300,000 new homes a year was amended following a Tory backbench rebellion last year.
Labour is also working on its more progressive promises: Wes Streeting, the new health secretary, has planned talks with striking junior doctors, said The Independent – a step forward in the battle to reduce NHS waiting lists. And on Saturday, in his first press conference as prime minister, Starmer called the Rwanda deportation plan "dead and buried before it started", said The Telegraph, following through on manifesto pledges to scrap the scheme.
What next?
We shouldn't forget that election night also brought victory for Reform UK, giving it five seats in Parliament and a record-breaking number of votes, said Paul Mason on openDemocracy. As seen in the US and Europe, right-wing beliefs such as those of Reform's leader Nigel Farage are on the rise. Starmer's conservative-leaning financial plans are "are better problems to have" and the party's move to the right may have been "based on an unflinching realism" about voters.
"The left-wing case for Starmer amounts to this: in a world where democracy is in peril, and where conservatism is merging with the far right, he stands a chance of making the UK a place of resistance and a model for the rest of Europe."
But Labour's "bid to be all things to all people", said Aldrick on Bloomberg, "may be easier on the campaign trail than in office".
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The GOP is Donald Trump Jr.'s party now
In The Spotlight The former president's gun-loving, live-streaming adult son has emerged as more than just his father's namesake — he's become a Republican powerhouse of his own
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - July 23, 2024
Cartoons Tuesday's cartoons - rollercoasters, pay pals, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Will Keir Starmer scrap the two-child benefit cap?
Today's Big Question PM signals 'change in tone' as Labour rebels prepare to back amendment calling for immediate end to controversial 'social cleansing' policy
By The Week UK Published
-
For God and country: is religion in politics making a comeback?
Talking Point There are many MPs of faith in the new Labour government despite it being the most openly secular House of Commons in history
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Can Kamala Harris beat Trump?
Today's Big Question Some senior Democrats are unsure the vice-president can win in November even as party closes ranks behind her
By The Week UK Published
-
King's Speech: is Keir Starmer being too cautious?
Today's Big Question The Labour Party set out its plans for its first year in government
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump's attempted assassination a reckoning for the Secret Service?
Today's Big Question The incident is widely being described as a massive failure by the agency
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Are down-ticket Democrats doomed?
Talking Points President Joe Biden's refusal to step back from his reelection campaign has some local Democrats wondering if their own races are in trouble — but not everyone is worried
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump's attempted assassination becomes a potent political force in a single striking image
In The Spotlight Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci may have captured the most consequential photograph of 21st century politics
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published