Union leadership: prepare for a parade of preening peacocks

The irony is that there have been political successes, but the reality is that the embarrassing U-turns almost sank Sir Keir Starmer’s rudderless ship.

We are now faced with the inevitable: a Labor Party on the verge of imploding. Factionalism came to the fore and personal ambition became the priority of power-hungry and unprincipled politicians.

We’ve seen this movie play out before. Boris Johnson came to power with vague promises to “get Brexit done” and “build back better”. While Johnson was full of bluster, Starmer was afraid of his own shadow.

Every statement he makes is made in a managerial spirit. Even the announcement of the nationalization of British Steel, which was expected to prove popular, was accompanied by reservations. He just can’t bring himself to commit to anything.

The country will now have to endure a parade of peacocks telling us how they are going to remedy the ills that afflict Britain. Some have even spent time in this government, can you imagine them taking direct responsibility for giving the public a damp squib over the last two years? That would be too much.

Wes Streeting resigned as Health Secretary last week, issuing a yes, no, maybe statement. No certainty whether he would run to become the next leader. What hope is there if the conspirators cannot even clearly resign?

It seems that there is simply no honor among politicians. Resigning after the hard blows of local elections is more like ministers trying to save their skin. I mean, who wants to give up a basic annual salary of just under £100,000? This is before all the benefits offered.

It would be churlish to say that Andy Burnham has not done a good job as Mayor of Greater Manchester. Some argue that the pieces of the puzzle were in place for him to succeed in this role. But he had to defend the region and he did it.

However, being mayor of Greater Manchester is a different ball game to running the country. A few years ago, Burnham himself said he had no desire to return to the Westminster bubble. But not all politicians can resist the lure of power and sitting in Number 10 is the closest you can get to being all-powerful.

The real problem for Burnham is that even if he wins the Makerfield by-election, he will return to this bubble. Where he will be surrounded by managers, telling him what cannot be done. The same paralysis that afflicted Starmer will come to haunt whoever succeeds him.

The reason Nigel Farage makes hay is because he is able to dissociate himself from this bubble. He and his party didn’t have to get into the nitty-gritty of politics. It’s one thing to shout “stop the boats” with a pint in your hand, it’s another to cut immigration.

If we are being completely honest, our policy has been going in the wrong direction for some time now. Politicians and their advisors treat the public like fools. Imbeciles who would be incapable of understanding complex policies.

What the country is really calling for is a political program of transformation. A policy that tackles the cost of living crisis, a reform that reforms the welfare system in an honest and fair way and a policy that will speak to people about their social concerns.

Instead, at the start of the fight for the privilege of becoming the next resident of 10 Downing Street, Streeting is attempting to set an elephant trap for his potential rival in any leadership race by rekindling the fires of Brexit. And Burnham is still striving to reinforce his carefully curated “common man” image.

The ‘Everton season ticket holder’ is set to become the next ‘toolmaker’s son’. None of this will solve the problems affecting this country. The pressed medium is about to be dried. Upwardly mobile young people have difficulty accessing the housing market. Public services are deteriorating.

Answers to a whole list of problems are not available. Instead, the public will have to watch another tedious soap opera where power-hungry politicians jostle over who can make a few adjustments that will inevitably make little or no difference in the lives of the people who matter.