Starmer set to resign (allegedly)

This is such an omnishambles that it's clear Starmer won the July 2024 election only because the Conservatives got the kicking they deserved. Labour took just 34% of the vote yet won 63% of seats — a stark contrast to Corbyn's 2019 result, where 32% of the vote yielded only 31% of seats. Smaller parties show similar distortions: the Liberal Democrats won 12% of the vote but 71 seats, while Reform's larger 14% share brought just 5. If Starmer announces his departure tomorrow, his nearly two years as PM will be remembered as an electoral triumph that quickly devolved into a stagnant premiership. Having entered Downing Street on a vague platform of "Change," his government ran aground — failing to spark growth, mired in U-turns, and rocked by Cabinet resignations. Ultimately, he lost control of his own party. Should he go, he leaves Britain facing the same structural fractures he inherited, putting the UK on course for its seventh PM in a decade.

If this proves true, Starmer’s legacy will be a government that promised stability but delivered uncertainty, higher costs and very little confidence that there is a serious economic plan underneath it.

The most frustrating part is that he inherited a country desperate for growth, investment and a sense that working hard would actually move you forward. Instead, businesses have faced tax uncertainty, households have faced continued pressure, and confidence has been damaged by constant reversals, weak messaging and policies that often feel designed in Westminster rather than reality.

Yes, inflation has eased and growth has had better moments, but people do not judge an economy from a chart. They judge it from rent, mortgages, food bills, tax, childcare and whether they can plan their life without the rules changing again.

For me, the verdict is simple: he did not create every economic problem, but he failed to give people confidence that he knew how to fix them.

Burnham’s bye’ bye bye keir’ lection in Makerld.

Starmer’s premiership should be judged kindly. He inherited a country tired, broke and short on trust, and brought a seriousness back to government that had been badly missing. No one would call his leadership flamboyant; charisma was never there. But in a political market flooded with noise, his offer was competence, discipline and a steady hand. Nearly two years in, he has shown that dull can be underrated when the alternative is chaos. His critics will say he lacked sparkle, and that is fair. But he gave Britain something more valuable: a government that looked like it knew what it was doing. Asda can finally have their manager back.

We have a peace deal that is being held together with glue, so let's throw in some more uncertainty into the mix, a new PM and Chancellor. History shows us that we are at the mercy of the bond market. I hope Burnham et al have thought this through and have an iron-clad plan. We don't want a repeat of 2022.