Bye, Bye Keir

Caitlyn Woodbury

caitlyn.gabsbitesizeblogs@gmail.com

Well, here we are again. A new tradition that Britain seems to be leaning into is getting rid of leaders after a couple years. There are many phrases that appear in my head:

“Mamma Mia, here we go again” from ABBA/The hit movie sequel,

“Oh, here we go again” from Taylor Swift,

“You’re joking? Not another one” from Bristol Brenda.

It seems to be as if Downing Street is just a revolving door of politicians- the last Prime Minister to serve a full term without resigning was David Cameron’s first term that ended in 2015. So, for 11 years no PM has served a full term. Why has Starmer become an addition to this despite his landslide victory, and was it the correct decision? And how long will it be until we see who social media call “hot podium guy” once again?

Keir Starmer brought the Labour party to a historic victory in the summer of 2024 when they won a majority of 411 seats. He brought the promise of change after 14 years of a Conservative government, and pledged that trust would be restored to government, and that he would build the country back up. But was this actually done?

Well, the figures sort of suggest yes. NHS waiting lists have gone down, growth occurred (although the Iran war makes it seem as though it could be temporary), net migration has decreased and benefit spending has increased, which included the scrap of the two-child limit for Universal Credit.

But that wasn’t enough to save Starmer. His promise to bring trust back to government was nullified when it was revealed that the ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, was included in the Epstein Files, and was sending supportive emails to the sex offender. Further investigation found that Mandelson’s background check had actually failed but he still received the job. It made Starmer appear no better than his predecessors, or his opponents that he claims to be in the pockets of Russia and America. Whilst this scandal did not directly lead to his resignation, it was a large motivation for later actions.

Another reason the PM was so disliked was his inability to stand up to Donald Trump, giving people reminders of Blair and Bush in the early 2000s. However, with the Iran war this later changed as Starmer refused to drag Britain into Trump’s war.

However, whilst we were excluded from the new conflict in the Middle East, the Labour party as a whole has been criticised for enabling Israel’s attack on Gaza (which the UN labelled a genocide). Not only did we sell arms, but the party had said that Israel had a right to protect itself, and a right to cut of water and electricity. Back home, Palestine Action was labelled as a terrorist group after breaking into an RAF base. Now, anyone that states that they support Palestine Action can be arrested, no matter how peaceful the actions. To this date, no one affiliated with Palestine Action has been violent towards another human being.

There are so many more reasons that Starmer is hated: winter fuel allowance, digital ID, his attack on trans rights, the fact he is just plain boring, the idea of him being a tory in a red suit. I could recite them all in detail but then it wouldn’t be much of a bitesize blog.

Now there is debate on whether the resignation was the right thing to do. As leader of the labour party, everyone can agree it was. Whether you liked him or not, he was dragging Labour down with him, as seen in the May local elections. For Labour to survive, Starmer needed to go. But as Prime Minister, it now gets a bit uncertain. Another change in leadership threatens stability in the country, could affect an already delicate economy and makes us look even more embarrassing than we already do on the world stage. But maybe it is worth it in order to keep our leaders accountable?

It is likely in the next few months that Andy Burnham will be our next Prime Minister, so keep an eye on the news and on this blog, as I pledge to keep you updated about what is truly happening in Britain!