A year into his leadership, Keir Starmer has managed to defy the expectations of even his most ardent critics. When he was elected, polls found that he had broad levels of support across many demographics. In a relatively short period of time his Labour Party was neck and neck with the Tories in the polls. One year later, however, one in five Labour voters has an unfavorable view of Starmer. His net satisfaction rating among the general population is -9 percent.

For Starmer supporters, these numbers are evidence that Labour is suffering from some form of “long Corbyn.” But the reality of this reversal suggests otherwise; if Jeremy Corbyn had really put voters off voting Labour for good, Starmer would not have experienced such initial success in the polls. If anything, we would see the reverse: voters thinking Starmer represented continuity Corbyn would have viewed him in an unfavorable light before revising their opinions.

In reality, Starmer has no one to blame for his first year as leader of the opposition but himself. He has alienated socialists by waging a campaign against the Left and suspending Jeremy Corbyn from the party, while simultaneously losing liberals by refusing to oppose one of the most corrupt and authoritarian governments in living memory.