As Keir Starmer prepares for Labour’s 2020 conference he has almost closed the gap with the Tories in the polls and is ahead of Boris Johnson as ‘best prime minister’. Yet as Johnson unleashes a ferocious nationalist assault on the EU, Starmer – who has avoided his lesser provocations – now faces a grave challenge over the government’s disregard for international law, coupled with its plan to neuter the UK’s human rights legislation.
It is evident that, while Brexit has happened, the profound conflicts it caused are still at the centre of British politics and Starmer will have no choice but to address them. Unless he finds a convincing way to do so, his initial successes could be quickly undermined.
Meanwhile the left is analysing the failure of Starmer’s predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, in the light of Left Out’s account of his leadership. This informative book starts with his surprising advance in the 2017 election, and shows how a combination of his own and his allies’ personal and political failings derailed hopes of further progress.
