Dutiful, managerial, a bit dull – Keir Starmer is no one’s idea of a firebrand politician.
The Labour Party hopes that is just what Britain needs. Starmer, the center-left party’s 61-year-old leader, is current favourite to win the country’s July 4 election.
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But the party has surged in the polls under his leadership, which has helped keep his internal critics onside.
At the party’s conference in October he showed some passion, telling cheering delegates: “I grew up working class. I’ve been fighting all my life. And I won’t stop now.” He also showed remarkable composure when a protester rushed onstage and showered Starmer with glitter and glue.
Some have likened this election to 1997, when Tony Blair led Labour to a landslide victory after 18 years of Conservative rule.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said that while Starmer is not a “particularly inspiring Blair-like figure, (he) nevertheless beats Rishi Sunak on almost every single indicator of what people want from a prime minister.”
“He’s not great,” Bale said. “But he’s good enough.”
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