Is British PM Starmer redefining labour, abandoning its values?

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* 

The Labour Party and its leader, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, are highly unpopular, much like the previous PM,  Rishi Sunak, and his Conservative Party. The latest YouGov poll result, released on October 8, 2024, reveals that more than six out of ten people in Britain dislike Starmer as Prime Minister, with 63% holding a negative opinion of him. Starmer and his leadership are now more unpopular than both Rishi Sunak and Nigel Farage. Such an ignominious fall is no accident but rather a result of Starmer's own making. His political positions are indistinguishable from those of other reactionary, right-wing, and conservative political leaders in the UK and across Europe. His leadership manifesto, electoral promises, and actions as Prime Minister suggest that   Starmer is suffering from multiple personality disorder in politics.   Starmer often says one thing and does exactly the opposite. No amount of political or ideological intervention will change the course of the Labour Party under his leadership, as he remains committed to his donors—his corporate masters.

The Labour Party government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has imposed austerity measures by cutting welfare budgets, including reductions to child benefits, winter fuel allowances for the elderly, and other welfare supports for vulnerable populations. However, while implementing these cuts,   Starmer, as Prime Minister, enjoys personal gifts and support worth more than £100,000. Such entitlements for a PM are incompatible with the realities faced by the vast majority of citizens in Britain. While   Starmer enjoys privileges beyond his means, the country grapples with increasing food bank use, rising unemployment, and escalating child poverty—threatening the basic rights of citizenship. This disparity reflects   Starmer's lack of a moral and political compass to lead the country. Under his leadership, the Labour Party has also been significantly weakened due to his corporate-driven politics, which stand in stark contrast to the traditional labour values of working-class politics.

Working-class politics is rooted in a moral framework shaped by everyday life—stemming from and founded on principles of work, cooperation, solidarity, equality, justice, liberty, peace, prosperity, and the collective happiness of people, regardless of their backgrounds. These ideals form the foundation of internationalism, which is grounded in local working-class cultures and shapes the values of local, regional, national, and international politics through solidarity and cooperation. The working people of Britain have a long history of fighting against British feudalism, colonialism, imperialism, fascism, Zionism, and apartheid regimes, extending their solidarities beyond borders in the pursuit of justice, equality, liberty and fraternity while deepening democracy at home. 

Labour Party government has imposed austerity measures by cutting welfare budgets for vulnerable populations

Such ideals and values have no place in the Labour Party under the leadership of   Starmer, whose politics, "unburdened by doctrine," is far from value-free. In reality, he has betrayed and abandoned the working-class values and principles of labour in pursuit of corporate interests aligned with the demands of capitalism, all under the guise of promoting economic growth.   Starmer’s politically untenable positions on NATO, nuclear weapons, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and the genocide in Gaza reflect his continued embrace and celebration of colonial, imperialist, and Zionist doctrines, all under the guise of politics and governance "unburdened by doctrine." Mr Starmer as a labour PM and current Labour Party is without any form of labour values. These further underscores the disconnect between his leadership and the working-class values of justice, equality, and solidarity that once defined the Labour Party. This political and ideological hypocrisy from a Labour leader breeds reactionary politics both in Britain and abroad.

There is nothing progressive about the Labour Party under   Starmer’s leadership today. Labour leaders, such as Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield, have quit the Labour Party and exposed the hypocrisies of   Starmer and his government’s "cruel and unnecessary" policies against working people. While resigning from the Labour Party is a significant political act, it is not enough to create alternative politics to revive Labour values and uphold the interests of the working class. It is time for working people in Britain to save and reclaim their values and fight for their citizenship rights by rejecting the politics and ideology of leaders like   Starmer. The survival of life and deepening of democracy in Britain depends on the struggle of working people, as this is the only viable alternative to celebrate working class values in politics.

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*Scholar based in UK