Starmered

Why has Britain’s new government got off to such an effing poor start?

Sir Keir Starmer is in danger of becoming an adjective with his name standing for extreme disappointment despite showing considerable promise.

To put my cards on the table I am tribally Labour, I even spent a number of years working for the party as a lowly researcher helping to devise policy. Like other members of the tribe I became accustomed to disappointment but somehow managed to discover grounds for optimism.

So, I was pleased when Labour decisively won the election. Now, however, I am at a loss to defend the new government. There have been some glimmers of light such as decisive handling of last summer’s racist riots and quick moves to resolve long simmering public sector pay disputes but where’s the big picture? What’s the purpose of this government?

It’s hardly good enough just to say that team Starmer is not as bad as the others - bearing in mind the depths to which the last government sank, this sets the bar very low.

Of course coming back into office after almost a decade and a half out of power is tough but equally these years of opposition provided quite enough time for preparation. Moreover in Sir Keir Labour appeared to have a serious and hard working leader surrounded by a team who seemed to be purposeful.

Yet the early signs of unraveling came very early and were all entirely self-inflicted with a series of scandals over dubious acceptance of cash for what looked suspiciously like access to power. The amounts of money involved were hardly humungous, all the more reason to wonder why these gifts were taken and why on earth none of the recipients realized how it would look.

Then came the barking mad decisions to take on pensioners by withdrawing winter fuel payments and u-turning on previous pledges of support for women facing pension losses as a results to changes in the rules. Almost beyond belief the government sought to defend all this by bleating about budgetary shortfalls, an excuse which would have made more sense if embarking on these battles were to have had a really significant impact on the budget deficit, which, of course, was nonsense.

It might be possible to shrug this off these tribulations as minor league turbulence, no more than teething troubles exacerbated by bad communications management.

But the bigger problem remains because this government has failed to show even a glimmer of backbone in establishing an agenda that meets the expectations of the people who voted for them.

Petrified of criticism Labour has bent over backwards to work from its opponent’s agenda. On immigration, for example, it is trying to outbid the xenophobes by stressing its tough approach, not trusting the wisdom of the people who may think immigration is excessive but are well aware of its benefits and yearn for a government who will stand up to the xenophobic bullies.

While there is clear evidence that a majority of voters have lost their enthusiasm for Brexit, the government is petrified of accusations of being anti-Brexit which means it won’t even dare to restore the benefits of closer cooperation with Europe by reviving quite minor schemes, such as the youth exchange programme for young people in UK and the EU. On bigger questions, such as trade cooperation to minimize the chaos and disadvantages of Brexit, the government runs a mile.

People are furious over the mess that privatization has made of water supply, the railways and indeed the housing market. Instead of tapping into this fury, government ministers dare not even utter the word nationalization.

Even when it comes to wholly laudable objectives such as spurring social home building, the best they can offer are implausible building targets which no one seriously believes can be met. Ditto plans for the NHS turbo-charged with endless rhetoric uncomfortably mirroring the previous government’s endless proclamations of good intent and nonsense targets, none of which did anything to resolve a health care crisis of truly daunting proportions.

As for Britain and its relations with the rest of the world, one word sums up the new government’s achievements: underwhelming.

Given the subject I know most about – China and Hong Kong – I am beyond embarrassed by the government’s supine attitude towards the world largest dictatorship. We are told a review of relations is underway, meanwhile China is free to march its agents around Britain infiltrating the country at all levels, literally threatening and beating up opponents who have found refuge here while leaving every stone unturned in standing up for the values of a democracy faced with a regime that despises liberty.

The blunt fact of the matter is that the Starmer government is afraid of its own shadow, scared to embrace an agenda expected from a party which is supposed to be progressive and representative of ordinary people.

Is it too early to be quite so critical? Will things improve along the way? Hopefully but the direction of travel is heading resolutely in the wrong direction. To put it bluntly, it aint bleeding good enough.