Where do we even begin?
At the time of writing, Keir Starmer has been in power for a year. For many of us, it’s marked the only time we remember without the Tories. Yet, it’s been far from a good run.
So far, in his time as Prime Minister, Keir Starmer has made many U-Turns, with just three in a month last month alone: one on PIP Benefits, one on grooming gangs and one on Winter Fuel payments. Although I oppose Reform, I’m not surprised that they’ve been able to use this to their advantage. After all, the enemy of your enemy isn’t always your friend. Sometimes, they’re just another enemy. Keir Starmer has consistently shown himself to be an incompetent leader.
Not really working-class?
He claims to be from a working-class background, having been the first in his family to go to uni. As someone who was the first in my family to go to uni, I would find this somewhat inspirational. However, I have never defined myself as working-class personally, because I am from a very middle-class town and have had a lower-middle class upbringing; I never wanted for anything, and only missed out on holidays. But the mortgage was always paid off, and there was always food in the fridge growing up, heating, and running water and electricity. We were all able to eat. This is not the case for everybody, though (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5wdld4kdko). This is why I self-identity as lower middle-class.
On the other hand, my parents were working-class growing up, as they both grew up in a working-class town with working-class families, who struggled to afford these basic necessities. Starmer, however, states that he is working-class, despite having grown up in Oxted, Surrey, which isn’t a working-class town. He has known struggles, I do not doubt that. But he is arguably relatively removed from everyday working-class life, certainly nowadays. Of course, this is the case with the vast majority of PMs. And that is a problem. Starmer, like so many other PMs, does not understand his own people’s struggles.
Cutting PIP benefits
He also approved the plan to cut PIP benefits yet there is minimal disability representation in his cabinet, and no minister of disability. As a disabled person, this isn’t good enough. Starmer seriously needs to take into account and understand the needs of disabled people across this country. This ranges from PIP claimants to pupils needing additional needs support in school. We all matter, and we all need our voices heard. Urgently. There have been recent U-turns on this, but some members of the disability community have criticised this, claiming that these U-turns will only help existing claimants, but will still discriminate against future claimants, which is wrong.
Seeming hypocrisy on Palestine
Then we come to Starmer’s hypocrisy surrounding Israel. In 2023, he claimed to stand with Israel and uphold its supposed right to defend itself. Yet, just last month, he was condemning their attacks on Palestine (rightfully so). Some people may say, ‘better late than never,’ but it shouldn’t have taken so many deaths for it to happen.
The economy has hardly changed
Economically, we’re only 1% better off, according to the BBC. The minimum wage rose, which is great, but many businesses have seen losses this year, together with staff cuts at schools and universities. Is this really what’s best for the country? Not to mention the fact that utility bills are a lot higher than they were, universities are losing significant funding, and food is still very expensive, as are other essential items.
The NHS is still struggling
In addition to this, in his most recent NHS plan, Starmer did not directly mention or involve the social care sector in the slightest. It appears there will be some positive changes, with regards to rewards for meeting exercise and diet goals and increased (?) alcohol warnings. Yet, I cannot help but worry about the people he is leaving behind or otherwise putting at a disadvantage, even though the NHS waiting lines have decreased.
Refusal to acknowledge trans women
The BBC stated in an article from April this year, ‘Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer does not believe transgender women are women, his official spokesman has said.’ Starmer’s blatant transphobia, although sadly not uncommon, is disgusting and will likely endanger vulnerable members of the trans community. We are seeing a rise in transphobic rhetoric across the world, and for a party that claims to be (or historically has claimed to be) left-wing, this is not good.
The first year in summation
I would summarise Starmer’s first year in power so far as incredibly rocky. It has seen several U-turns, and a lot of protests. A lot of cuts have had to be made and I do not deny that some of this has, of course, been inherited from the fourteen years of Conservative rule prior to Labour having taken power a year ago. But Labour’s economic progress has been minimal, and they have been accusations of pandering to people who are against immigration.
More left-wing alternatives
Looking for more left-wing alternatives (for those of us who have left-wing beliefs, and I include myself here) can be difficult, considering that the Green Party are essentially powerless. Everybody with similar beliefs to myself who I spoke to about voting in the General Election last year claimed that while they would vote for the Green Party, they weren’t likely to get into power. I heard this repeated a few times. This mentality results in keeping parties which are more progressive out of power. Yet this is not a coincidence, but a deliberate feature of two-party politics.
In a recent twist of events which may be exciting and offer a glimmer of hope for those people looking for a genuinely left-wing party, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana recently announced that they would be forming a new political party. This may provide an avenue to some for the 2029 Election given Corbyn’s more Socialist political leanings, and the fact that Zarah Sultana has consistently been on the Left of Labour. She is now leaving the party to start afresh. They are two of the few politicians I genuinely hold respect for and whose policies I generally agree with, and I am personally excited to see this. I think that the fact that they have explicitly stated that they will be funded by the people and will be doing work or the people is encouraging, on top of the fact that people have already funded them – members of the public, as opposed to members of the ruling class.
Concluding thoughts
If Starmer continues like this, people probably won’t be turning to Greens, or the Lib Dems, or even the Tories. They’ll turn to Reform, which is a terrifying concept for many of us, me included. Yet now, there may be a new party that could challenge that, a party which could ultimately help us make this country a better place to live in. If you disagree with ‘anything Starmer’ I’d recommend reaching out to your local MPS as one of their constituents. Let them know how you feel about this – that’s what they are there for. See if there’s anything she can do. If not, there are ways to take action yourself: petitions, letters, rallies, speeches, protests, can all help.
But whatever you do, if you find anything our government does is unjust, don’t just sit there in silence. Use your voice, every single one matters. Speak up, do something – before things get worse – because, despite there being hope on the horizon, it’s looking increasingly likely that they will.
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