Labour Party Conference 2021: does Keir Starmer have a PR problem?

Keir Starmer has just a week left to save his leadership after failing to put his stamp on Labour ahead of the upcoming party conference, the embattled politician has been warned.

Following criticism that he had not shared his vision for the UK, Starmer has published an 11,500-word essay on what he stands for and how he wants to change a country that he claims is “crying out for change” following the Covid pandemic.

He has outlined his view of a “contribution society” and - in a break from his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn - argued that “the role of government is to be a partner to private enterprise, not stifle it”, in order to “repair the public finances”.

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Having already spent more than 500 days as Labour leader, Starmer’s “lengthy” essay “will be viewed as an attempt by the former barrister to reset his leadership”, said Sky News.

The Guardian said the content “sets Labour on course for centre ground”. But some pundits have suggested that the 35-page pamphlet - which costs £5.95 for a hard copy and is being distributed by the Fabian Society - is too long to be of interest to most voters.

The BBC’s political correspondent, Iain Watson, said Labour’s “target voters are unlikely to devour the entire tract”. Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell was also critical, telling ITV that the pamphlet “reads like the Sermon on the Mount written by a focus group”.

“I can't see anything in this document that is going to inspire,” he added.

Ahead of the Labour conference, which kicks off on Saturday in Brighton, the commentary pages are full of advice for Starmer. In an open letter to the Labour leader in the London Evening Standard, Tom Newton Dunn warned that “by this time next week, you will have expended your last chance to save your Labour leadership”.

“If you’re still tanking in the polls, and with a general election potentially less than a year away, it’s impossible to think you won’t face dethroning before Labour conference next year,” Newton Dunn warned.

He offered Starmer five tips for what he “must do to cut through” with his conference speech, including talking to the country rather than the hall, announcing “brave” and “eye-catching” policies, and showing a “sense of humour”.

John Rentoul of The Independent has also called for the leader of the opposition to make us laugh, arguing that Starmer could learn from Angela Rayner’s “humorous approach to Prime Minister’s Questions” this week.

But Peter Mandelson has advised Starmer to get even more serious and forensic. In an article for The Guardian, the party’s former spin doctor wrote that voters “need powerful reasons to look at Labour again” after it parted company with “millions of former Labour voters”.

Insisting there are “no shortcuts to victory at the next election”, Mandelson said that “persuading soft, sceptical voters that we can implement a modern and dynamic programme of government, and a genuinely more egalitarian one, is our task”.

Along with criticism of his newly published essay and general PR style, Starmer has also come under fire over his focus on party election rules rather than the needs and concerns of voters.

“Given that the electoral college was, from its inception, a PR disaster for the Labour Party, it’s difficult to understand why Keir Starmer reportedly wants its resurrection as a way of electing future leaders,” said The Telegraph.

The Financial Times noted that several union bosses, including new Unite leader Sharon Graham, have urged him to “focus on ‘bread and butter’ issues facing voters rather than become mired in a battle over the party’s internal rule book”.

An unnamed union official told the paper: “The timing couldn’t be worse, I thought Keir would want to talk about his ambition for Britain, tackling the cost of living crisis, rather than internal machinations.”