He’s got the poll gains and bushy-tailed MPs, but Keir Starmer still needs to reach the public

Ayesha Hazarika
Ayesha Hazarika2 September 2020

There’s plenty of cheer for Keir Starmer as a new term in Westminster begins. After being slagged off by Corbynistas for not closing the gap in the polls, Opinium had Labour level pegging with the Tories, narrowing a 26-point gap, which is not to be sniffed at. “But it’s just one poll,” cry the hard-Left critics who lionise his predecessor who caused that political deficit. Ironically, Jeremy Corbyn released a triumphant video after he won a one-off Bank Holiday Monday poll on Times Radio for best PM we never had, claiming he had “won the argument” despite the small matter of delivering Boris Johnson a whopping great majority. His hubristic video justified my vote for him in that terribly serious poll.

But this is where Team Keir has a problem. Corbyn still hangs around the party brand like a drag anchor. This isn’t helped by his brother popping up on Good Morning Britain suggesting Covid was a hoax. I think we’ve all had enough Piers to Piers communication. When people get to see Starmer they have time for him and are impressed particularly in the face of a carnival of government chaos and incompetence.

However, the public aren’t seeing that much of him. They don’t know who he is yet. I was up in Glasgow visiting family and morphed into a mobile focus group asking everyone what

they thought of our political leaders, especially Starmer. Yep. I’m super-fun at parties. My mum’s busy, normal, non-political friend summed it up. “Love Nicola. Don’t really like that Boris. Can’t stand Jeremy Corbyn.” Many people outside politically engaged bubbles haven’t even really clocked who Starmer is despite his declaration that the party in “under new management”.

Most people outside politically engaged bubbles haven’t clocked who he is

Starmer is also about to miss out on a golden opportunity to introduce himself to the country because September’s conference season has been cancelled due to the pandemic. Opposition leaders struggle to get media cut-through and their annual conference — especially their first — is a chance to get precious airtime and media coverage, and also to press the flesh of your party and wider movement from across the country and create a buzz and feelgood factor.

Starmer hasn’t had the chance to do that. When I met him (in a socially distanced manner) for the first time after he won, he told me how he had imagined that sweet moment of victory. Of being on stage in a big conference centre making his acceptance speech to hundreds of members and, crucially, the press so he could start talking to the country. Instead, he found himself in his front room recording a message on his aide’s mobile phone.

And that’s now happening again. This would have been an upbeat, rather jolly conference for him as the majority of his MPs and party members are bushy-tailed and excited about him. The complete opposite of how many Tory backbenchers and the party faithful feel about the Prime Minister right now. In terms of who wins and loses from the cancelling of conference, it’s definitely Johnson 4, Starmer 0.

That doesn’t mean game over for the red team. Starmer has an embarrassment of riches on which to attack the Government. But he must also use this term to take every opportunity to introduce himself and his vision to the public. Just because conference is cancelled, that doesn’t mean he can’t stage a version of what would have been his big conference speech. Build it and they will come.