The Labour leader is busy unravelling the alliance he built with the left in order to get the job
- Simon Fletcher is a former adviser to Labour party leaders Keir Starmer, Jeremy Corbyn and Ed Miliband
Keir Starmer would not have been elected as Labour leader if he had suggested publicly or privately that he intended to re-establish weighted votes for MPs in leadership elections, taking power away from regular members and ensuring future leadership contests would be less inclusive than the one he himself won. Labour party members would not have voted to abrogate their own rights. The triumphalism of some on the party’s right following the changes to the party’s rulebook will be greeted with resentment by thousands of party members.
Briefings from allies of the leadership say that the reforms show Labour has changed, drawing a line under the Jeremy Corbyn years and focusing outward. Instead, they have shown that Labour hasn’t changed at all – it is still focused on internal fights. Until someone decides to take a lead to stop the cycle of open strife, the party will struggle to win a general election.
