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Keir Starmer's tenure as Leader of the Opposition

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Keir Starmer's tenure as Leader of the Opposition
4 April 2020 – 5 July 2024
Premier
CabinetShadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer
PartyLabour
Election2020
Appointed byElizabeth II

Keir Starmer served as Leader of the Opposition in April 2020, following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election and Starmer's election as Labour leader in the ensuing leadership election, until his party won a landslide victory at the general election in July 2024.

This article is part of
a series about
Keir Starmer
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Policies
Elections

Keir Starmer's signature

Having become Leader of the Opposition amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Starmer said in his acceptance speech that he would refrain from "scoring party political points" and would work with the government "in the national interest".[1] He later became more critical of the government's response to the pandemic following the Partygate scandal.[2] Amid the historic number of ministers resigning from Boris Johnson's government in July 2022, Starmer proposed a vote of no confidence in the government, stating that Johnson could not be allowed to remain in office given the large-scale revolt by his own ministers.[3][4]

Starmer also criticised Johnson's government, as well as the governments of his successors Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, for issues such as the Chris Pincher scandal and subsequent government crisis, the economic crisis resulting from the 2022 mini-budget and subsequent government crisis, the cost of living crisis and the National Health Service strikes and other industrial disputes and strikes. After Starmer became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he was succeeded as Leader of the Opposition by Sunak.

Background[edit]

Main articles: 2019 United Kingdom general election and Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn

Starmer was elected to the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. As a backbencher, Starmer supported the unsuccessful Britain Stronger in Europe campaign in the 2016 European Union membership referendum. He was appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration by Jeremy Corbyn, but resigned from this role in June 2016 as part of the wider shadow cabinet resignations in protest of Corbyn's leadership. Starmer accepted a new post under Corbyn that year as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, and advocated a proposed second referendum on Brexit.

In the 2019 general election, Labour suffered its worst election defeat since 1935, with the Conservative Party earning an 80-seat majority.[5][6] Labour won 203 seats, gaining 32.2% of the vote.[6] This was the Labour Party's fourth consecutive general election defeat.[7] Following Labour's defeat, Corbyn announced that he would stand down as Leader of the Labour Party.[8] Starmer began to distance himself from Corbyn's leadership and many of the policies he put forward at the election, revealing in 2024 that he was "certain that we would lose the 2019 election".[9] Corbyn responded by saying "Well, he never said that to me, at any time. And so I just think rewriting history is no help. It shows double standards, shall we say, that he now says he always thought that but he never said it at the time or anything about it. He was part of the campaign. He and I spoke together at events and I find it actually quite sad."[10] Following the party's defeat at the 2019 election, Corbyn announced that he would stand down as Leader of the Labour Party following a "process of reflection".[11]

Labour leadership bid[edit]

Main article: 2020 Labour Party leadership election (UK)

On 4 January 2020, Starmer announced his candidacy for the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, following the resignation of Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's defeat at the 2019 general election.[12] By 8 January, it was reported that Starmer had gained enough nominations from Labour MPs and MEPs to get onto the ballot paper, and that the trade union Unison was backing him. Unison, with 1.3 million members, said Starmer was the best placed candidate to unite the party and regain public trust.[13] He also gained support from former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.[14]

During the leadership election, Starmer ran a left-wing platform. He positioned himself in opposition to austerity, stating that Corbyn was "right" to position Labour as the "party of anti-austerity".[15][16] He indicated he will continue with the Labour policy of scrapping tuition fees as well as pledging "common ownership" of rail, mail, energy and water companies and called for ending outsourcing in the NHS, local governments and the justice system.[17] Supporters of Rebecca Long-Bailey criticised Starmer for releasing details of his campaign donations on the register of members' interests rather than independently, as Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy had done, which meant that some details of his donors were not published until after the election had ended.[18][19] Starmer went on to win the leadership contest on 4 April 2020, defeating Long-Bailey and Nandy, with 56.2% of the vote in the first round,[20] and subsequently became Leader of the Opposition.[21][22]

Leader of the Opposition[edit]

It is the honour and the privilege of my life to be elected as leader of the Labour Party. It comes at a moment like none other in our lifetime. Under my leadership we will engage constructively with the Government, not opposition for opposition's sake. Not scoring party political points or making impossible demands. But with the courage to support where that's the right thing to do. I want to thank Rebecca and Lisa for running such passionate and powerful campaigns and for their friendship and support along the way. I want to thank our Labour Party staff who worked really hard and my own amazing campaign team, full of positivity, with that unifying spirit. I want to pay tribute to Jeremy Corbyn, who led our party through some really difficult times, who energised our movement and who's a friend as well as a colleague. And to all of our members, supporters and affiliates I say this: whether you voted for me or not I will represent you, I will listen to you and I will bring our party together.

— Keir Starmer's acceptance speech, April 2020
Starmer speaking during Prime Minister's Questions, 7 February 2024

Having become the Leader of the Opposition amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Starmer said he would refrain from "scoring party political points" and would work with Boris Johnson's government "in the national interest". He later became more critical of the government's response to the pandemic following the Partygate scandal.[23] Starmer also criticised Johnson's government, as well as the governments of his successors Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, for issues such as the Chris Pincher scandal and subsequent government crisis, the economic crisis resulting from the 2022 mini-budget and subsequent government crisis, the cost of living crisis and the National Health Service strikes and other industrial disputes and strikes. Amid the historic number of ministers resigning from Johnson's government in July 2022, Starmer proposed a vote of no confidence in Johnson's government, stating that Johnson could not be allowed to remain in office given the large-scale revolt by his own ministers.[24][25] Starmer's questioning strategy against Johnson, Truss and Sunak was similar to that of a prosecutor.[26][27]

Policies[edit]

Starmer's tenure has seen the party move closer towards the political centre.[28][29][30] Speaking at the party's annual conference in 2021, the first time Starmer addressed the annual conference in person since becoming the leader, he presented his focus on stronger economy and tougher stances on crime, repositioning the party away from the previous leadership.[31] By 2022, Starmer had dropped most of the socialist policies he advocated during his leadership run, including pledges made to nationalise water and energy, scrap tuition fees, and defend free movement within the EU.[32][33] Starmer responded to criticism in 2023 by stating that they remained "important statements of value and principle", but cited the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic crisis resulting from the 2022 mini-budget as having meant that these pledges have had to be adapted.[34]

Under Starmer's tenure, the party still supports the renationalisation of Britain's railways,[35] and has pledged to create a publicly owned energy company, Great British Energy, to "compete with private industry and promote clean energy", differentiated from full nationalisation of the energy industry as previously pledged.[36][37] In February 2023, Starmer set out five "national missions" as the basis for Labour's manifesto for the 2024 general election:[38] achieving the highest sustained growth in the G7 by the end of his first term,[39] establishing the UK as a "clean energy superpower" with zero-carbon electricity by 2030; enacting health and care reform, improving the justice system, and dismantling the barriers to opportunity" with education and childcare reforms.[39] Upon becoming Labour leader, he tasked Brown with recommending British constitutional reforms.[40] The report was published in 2022 and was endorsed and promoted by Starmer, and recommended the abolition of the House of Lords, extending greater powers to local councils and mayors, and deeper devolution to the countries of the United Kingdom.[41] In November 2022, Starmer said that he would strip politicians of the power to appoint people to the House of Lords in the first term of a Labour government,[42] adding that the public's trust in the political system had been undermined by successive Conservative leaders granting peerages to "lackeys and donors".[43] Labour's 2024 election manifesto Change, however, did not recommend abolition to the House of Lords, instead committing only to removal of the remaining hereditary peers from the chamber, setting a mandatory retirement age of 80, and beginning a consultation on replacing the Lords with a "more representative" body.[44]

Shadow Cabinet appointments[edit]

Main article: Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer
Starmer with Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner, February 2024

His Shadow Cabinet appointments included MPs associated with the various wings of the party. Angela Rayner was appointed deputy labour leader and shadow deputy prime minister, while Rachel Reeves and Yvette Cooper were appointed as shadow chancellor and shadow home secretary, respectively. Miliband was appointed shadow energy and climate secretary. Other notable appointments included David Lammy as shadow foreign secretary and Wes Streeting as shadow health secretary. A reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet was undertaken in September 2023, which was described by the media as being dominated by Blairites and demoting MPs on the soft left.[45][46][47][48][45]

May 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle[edit]

Main article: May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle

In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the 2021 local elections, Starmer carried out a May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle. Starmer dismissed Angela Rayner as Chair of the Labour Party and National Campaign Coordinator following the elections.[49][50] The move was criticised by John McDonnell, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.[51][52] The major outcome of the reshuffle was the demotion of the Shadow Chancellor, Anneliese Dodds.[53] Rachel Reeves was appointed as the new Shadow Chancellor and Angela Rayner succeeded Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Nick Brown was dismissed as Chief Whip and replaced by his deputy, Alan Campbell. Valerie Vaz departed as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and was replaced by Thangam Debbonaire, who in turn was succeeded as Shadow Secretary of State for Housing by Lucy Powell. On 11 May 2021, Starmer's Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) Carolyn Harris resigned, which The Times reported was after allegedly spreading false rumours about the private life of Angela Rayner prior to her dismissal.[54][55] Sharon Hodgson was appointed as Starmer's new PPS.[56]

November 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle[edit]

Main article: November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle

The November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle, which was considered a surprise,[57] included the promotion of Yvette Cooper and David Lammy to Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Foreign Secretary, respectively, while Miliband was moved from Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy to Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. The appointment of Cooper in particular was described by some commentators as a sign of Labour further splitting from the Corbyn leadership and moving to the right.[58] The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg and Robert Peston of ITV News said that the reshuffle aimed to "combine experience and youth" and end "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions", and instead chose "shadow ministers for their perceived ability".[59][60] In the New Statesman, journalist Stephen Bush suggested that Starmer had "removed underperforming shadow cabinet ministers and rewarded his biggest hitters – but the resulting shadow cabinet looks to be less than the sum of its parts."[61]

2023 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle[edit]

Main article: 2023 British shadow cabinet reshuffle

In September 2023, Starmer reshuffled his shadow cabinet for the third time since taking over as leader.[62][63] Starmer's deputy Angela Rayner received the shadow levelling up post, replacing Lisa Nandy who was demoted to the shadow minister for international development.[64] The most senior members of the shadow cabinet remained in their positions.[64] Rosena Allin-Khan, who was the shadow minister for mental health before the reshuffle, resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, criticising shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting's advocacy for outsourcing the NHS to the private sector.[65] She also said that Starmer did "not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet".[66][67][68] The reshuffle coincided with the start of the tenure of Sue Gray as Starmer's new chief of staff.[69]

Writers from The Guardian and Politico said that the Blairite wing of the party had prospered in the reshuffle to the detriment of the soft left of the party.[70][71] One shadow minister, said of the reshuffle, "It's all the Blairites" and called it "an entirely factional takeover".[72] Starmer said that he was putting his "strongest possible players on the pitch" ahead of the upcoming general election.[64] Tom Belger writing for LabourList described the reshuffle as a continuing of "Labour’s right-ward march".[73]

Other events[edit]

Beergate[edit]

Main article: Beergate

In May 2022, Starmer said he would resign if he received a fixed penalty notice for breaching COVID-19 regulations while campaigning during the run-up to the Hartlepool by-election and local elections the previous year.[74] The controversy surrounding the event was dubbed "Beergate".[75] He and Rayner were both cleared by Durham Police in July 2022 who said there was "no case to answer".[76]

Breach of code of conduct[edit]

In August 2022, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, found that Starmer had breached the MPs' code of conduct eight times by failing to register interests on eight occasions.[77] Stone had launched the investigation in June after complaints that Starmer had been late to register income and hospitality, and said that the breaches were "minor and/or inadvertent."[78][79] A Labour spokesperson subsequently stated that Starmer had apologised, with Starmer having previously stated he was "absolutely confident" that there was "no problem."[79][80]

Slur controversy[edit]

While speaking in the House of Commons on 31 January 2022, Johnson falsely blamed Starmer for the non-prosecution of serial sex offender Jimmy Savile when Starmer was Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Starmer was DPP in the years immediately prior to Savile's death but there is no evidence he was involved in the decision to not have him prosecuted.[81] Johnson received criticism for the comment and his policy adviser, Munira Mirza, resigned three days later, saying that Johnson had made "a scurrilous accusation".[82] Julian Smith, the former chief whip, and Simon Hoare were among Conservatives who called for Johnson to apologise. On 3 February, during an interview with Sky News, Johnson defended his comments, stating that in 2013, Starmer apologised because the CPS had not investigated Savile; however, Johnson then said: "I totally understand that he [Starmer] had nothing to do personally with those decisions".[83]

2022 NATO and Ukraine policy dispute[edit]

Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, 11 Labour backbench MPs signed a letter by the Stop the War Coalition that accused the UK government of "sabre-rattling" and said that NATO "should call a halt to its eastward expansion and commit to a new security deal for Europe which meets the needs of all states and peoples", whilst also arguing that NATO was an aggressive organisation due to military actions taken by its members outside its borders in the past. The MPs were asked by the party whips, representatives of the leadership tasked with maintaining discipline among Labour MPs, to remove their names from the statement under threat of being expelled from the party and all quickly agreed to do so. A spokesperson for the Labour Party said that this action ensured that every Labour MP understood that their party was on the side of "Britain, Nato, freedom and democracy".[84][85] At around this time, Young Labour's Twitter account was suspended after it criticised the leadership policy towards NATO.[86] In an interview with the BBC in March 2022, Starmer was asked whether he would be hoping that MPs who backed Stop the War "won't be standing at the next election or if they do whether [he would] be fully supporting them to do so". After repeatedly being accused of not answering the question, Starmer gave the answer of "well, they are Labour MPs and of course I support them, but all of our MPs will go through a process for selection into the next election".[87]

Industrial action policy disputes[edit]

The summer of 2022 saw significant amounts of industrial unrest.[88][89] Starmer instructed members of his shadow cabinet to refrain from joining picket lines;[90] some Labour MPs appeared on picket-lines including frontbenchers Kate Osborne, Paula Barker, Peter Kyle, and Navendu Mishra. The Labour Party's contingents in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments also took a different approach.[91][92] Sam Tarry, Shadow Minister for Buses and Local Transport, was dismissed on 27 July after appearing on a rail strike picket. He said in a TV interview that workers should receive a pay rise in line with inflation though Labour policy was that pay increases should be based on negotiation. A spokesperson for the party said that "Sam Tarry was sacked because he booked himself onto media programmes without permission and then made up policy on the hoof."[93] His dismissal was criticised by trade union leaders and Tarry wrote in an opinion piece for the i that "failing to join the striking rail workers on a picket line would have been an abject dereliction of duty for me as a Labour MP."[94][95]

Diane Abbott's suspension and whip restoration[edit]

In April 2023, after writing an article in The Observer, former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott was suspended as a Labour MP pending an investigation.[96][97] In the article, Abbott claimed that although "many types of white people with points of difference" such as Jewish, Irish or Traveller people can experience prejudice, they are not subject to racism "all their lives".[97][96] Abbott later apologised for the article, saying that she had erroneously sent an early draft of her article.[96] A Labour Party statement said that the comments were "deeply offensive and wrong".[97] Starmer said that she was suspended due to anti-Semitism.[96] The Labour Party National Executive Committee concluded its inquiry into her comments in December 2023 and issued her with a "formal warning". The Labour Party restored the whip on 28 May 2024. Abbott said she had been barred from standing as a Labour Party candidate at the 2024 general election, but Starmer later said she would be "free" to stand as a Labour candidate.[98]

Neal Lawson's possible expulsion[edit]

In June 2023, Neal Lawson, the chair of the centre-left think tank, Compass, faced possible expulsion from the Labour Party after 44 years of membership due to tweeting in 2021 in favour of other political parties working together with Labour against the Conservatives.[99] In response to being notified of his possible expulsion, Lawson said that the party had become obsessed with "petty tyranny" and under the leadership of Keir Starmer the party had been captured by a clique who are "behaving like playground bullies".[99] Labour MP Jon Cruddas accused the party under Starmer of being right-wing, illiberal and of enacting a "witch-hunt", calling the decision regarding Lawson a "disgrace".[100]

Glitter incident[edit]

In October 2023, during his speech at the Labour Party Conference, Starmer was covered in glitter by protester Yaz Ashmawi, who later apologised for touching him but did not apologise for using glitter or protesting.[101] In May 2024, Starmer offered the glitter-covered jacket to a charity founded in memory of his murdered colleague Jo Cox, raising £2,700 for the charity.[102]

Israel-Hamas war[edit]

Main article: British support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war

After the 7 October attacks which began the Israel–Hamas war, Starmer expressed support for Israel, condemned "terrorists of Hamas", and said, "This action by Hamas does nothing for Palestinians. And Israel must always have the right to defend her people."[103][104] In an interview with LBC on 11 October 2023, Starmer was asked whether it would be appropriate for Israel to totally cut off power and water supplies to the Gaza Strip, with Starmer replying that "I think that Israel does have that right" and that "obviously everything should be done within international law".[105][106] On 20 October, after criticism and resignations of Labour councillors, Starmer said that he only meant that Israel had the right to defend itself.[106][107] Starmer had said that a ceasefire would only benefit Hamas for future attacks, instead calling for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach Gaza.[108] As of 6 November 2023, 50 of Labour's councillors had resigned over the issue.[109]

On 16 November 2023, Starmer suffered a major rebellion when 56 of his MPs (including ten frontbenchers) defied a three-line whip in voting for a Scottish National Party (SNP) motion proposed by Stephen Flynn to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.[110][111] Prior to the vote, Starmer stated that Labour MPs with positions in his Shadow Cabinet would be sacked if they voted in favour of the ceasefire vote.[110] This then led to the loss of ten frontbenchers, including eight shadow ministers.[110] In December 2023, Starmer followed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in changing his stance by calling for a "sustainable ceasefire" in relation to Gaza, which also came after the Foreign Secretary David Cameron's same change in position. Starmer stated his support for a "two-stage" "two-state solution".[112][113][114] The Labour Party under Starmer suspended several parliamentary candidates and MPs, including Graham Jones, Andy McDonald, Azhar Ali and Kate Osamor, for allegedly making anti-Semitic comments about Israel during the Israel-Hamas war, or for describing its conduct as genocide.[115][116] On 18 February 2024, Starmer called for a "ceasefire that lasts" and said it must "happen now", having previously refused to call for a ceasefire.[117][118][119]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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