Keir Starmer and Tory History

In December, in an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Keir Starmer made a supportive comment about Margaret Thatcher. It attracted derision from the left. His supporters responded that he was stating the obvious. But he was not. Keir Starmer made a general historical argument, here in its entirety:

‘Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism. Tony Blair reimagined a stale, outdated Labour Party into one that could seize the optimism of the late 1990s. A century ago, Clement Attlee wrote that Labour must be a party of duty and patriotism, not abstract theory. To build a “New Jerusalem” meant first casting off the mind-forged manacles.’ – The Sunday Telegraph, 2 December 2023

It is a remarkable and revealing passage. For it seems to be saying that only Thatcher and (partially) Attlee made a difference to the status quo. This runs counter to the traditional social democratic story – that Labour created something good, which Thatcher destroyed. To have this analysis from a Labour leader is astonishing (even if it was probably shared by Blair and Brown).

Continued in Red Pepper (29 February 2024)