Let's face it - Labour inherited a total shit show after 14 years of Tory misrule - an economy crippled by Brexit, immigration chaos, turds in our rivers and seas, and rapidly deteriorating public services. But - inevitably - it's Sir Keir Starmer who's getting the blame for the country's woes, thanks mainly to the the fickleness of the electorate as well as the country's evident decline. But Labour seems to have bent over backwards to help its opponents with self-inflicted wounds such as inept communications, avoidable scandal and bouts of epic political bungling.

As the Labour Party Conference gets under way next weekend, Nick Cohen talks to Keir Starmer's biographer Tom Baldwin about the prime minister's leadership position within the Labour Party, examining the PM's challenges and potential future in politics.

Labour needs to expose the malice and plastic patriotism of the Far Right

Nick and Tom discuss the current state of Labour's position, focusing on whether Sir Keir Starmer's leadership is in jeopardy. They highlighted Labour's low vote share in the 2024 election and recent poor opinion poll ratings, including a recent approval rating of minus 54 for Keir Starmer. The discussion touches on the potential leadership challengers within the Labour Party, including, possibly the current metro-mayor for Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, with Nick noting the historic difficulty of replacing a sitting Prime Minister, particularly in the Labour Party. In contrast, as we know, the Tories have never had any problem knifing their leaders in the back - or front.

Both Tom and Nick explore the broader topic of combating the far right in politics. Tom says Starmer should articulate Labour values more forcefully and espouse his own more gentle and inclusive version of patriotism in stark contrast to the nationalist bombast of Nigel Farage and and the more sinister extremism of Tommy Robinson/Yaxley-Lennon.

Starmer needs to articulate & lead national renewal

Tom says Starmer needs to be able to convincingly argue for a gentle and inclusive patriotism, to lead a sense of national renewal and take on the plastic patriots of Farage and the far right, He says, "It's not some sepia-tinted restoration of the past. It's not some like we're going to like back ruling the waves like Boris Johnson pretended, or you where the country invented liberties. So we don't need to be members of the ECHR or this nonsense."

The paperback version of Tom's must-read bestseller, Keir Starmer, the biography, is out now with updated chapters.

Nick Cohen's @NichCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond.

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