A Labour MP has issued a damning verdict on how ready Sir Keir Starmer is to be Prime Minister.
Jon Duggas told the New Statesman that the Labour leader’s methods will not allow for a stable Government should they win the upcoming General Election.
The MP for Dagenham and Rainham and former party policy coordinator said that Labour has embraced political quietism in preference to radical change.
“I can’t think of an example of Labour creating a mandate in government,” Duggas said.
“To me, at the moment, it’s a pretty elusive target, Starmerism. Some will say, ‘Well, he travels light and that’s good’. I’m not sure it allows for a durable Labour government.”
However, Labour aides have claimed that Starmer is more radical than critics claim. One said this showed in his pledge last autumn to get rid of restrictive planning laws.
And the party is currently finalising policy for its manifesto. Rishi Sunak said an election would take place this year with predictions that it will be in May.
Labour is currently polling above the Conservatives. When asked who is best placed to manage the economy, they poll nine percent above the Tories, and Starmer is 11 points above Sunak as the preferred Prime Minister.
But as Morgan McSweeney, Labour’s campaign director, said last month: “Polls do not predict the future. Nobody has voted in the general election; change won’t happen unless people vote for it.”
The New Statesman said that Labour’s best chances to win the election will come from former SNP voters, tactical voting due to anti-Tory sentiment and swing seats outside of big cities.
Mr Sunak’s personal ratings, which have previously sat above his parties, have dropped down to join them.
