Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is heading to Liverpool for the party’s conference, determined to translate a commanding poll lead into power. Starmer is obsessed with winning. “I want to get on with the real job of winning the next election. I don’t find the self-promotion of this process a comfortable experience,” he said. However, it seems some are not ready to hand their vote to Labour. Recent polls suggest there’s much more enthusiasm for getting rid of the Conservatives than there is for voting Labour. “If not them – the Conservatives – why us?” has become the question hovering over the Labour leadership. They still have work to do to convince the public.
Of course, the party is arriving in a good mood, buoyed by their success in the Rutherglen and West Hamilton by-election. But they know that won’t be enough, and they will need to create more buzz and attention at the event. The Labour Party slogan – “Let’s Get Britain’s Future Back” – will be heard. The party leadership is expected to reassure the public that it can be trusted with the economy, with a focus on economic growth running through lots of its big speeches. They are also expected to discuss initiatives in areas like housebuilding and cheaper, cleaner energy. But how much detail should they offer in terms of policy and ideas? An Australian Labour Party review of its general election loss in 2019 blamed having too many policies as a significant factor. Some are arguing that too many policies will make it difficult to sell what Labour stands for. Instead, they suggest a sense of vision is more important.
There is also concern that the prime minister’s aggressive policy blitzes are making Labour reactionaries. While furious at the Conservatives’ spending to make a Labour government impossible, Labour will have to decide whether accepting them still amounts to petulance or if it makes them look weak. Some argue that reversing the cancellation of HS2 wouldn’t promote stability or be practical. Such a move may leave Labour in a weak position, callow, and even empty. The key is to ensure policy development is being turbo-charged in private, a former minister says, describing the “intensely granular detail” that was gone into, to prepare themselves for government.
Labour has no guarantee that the Conservatives will hand them the next election, and Labour needs to win over the public before then. A sense of vision, a hunger to lead, and an understanding of their policies will all be necessary. They say that running a well-liked government is difficult, but assembling an electable opposition may be even more challenging
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