The Post-Corbyn Labour Party Is Imitating the Democratic Party’s Centrist Rhetoric
As Labour leader Keir Starmer continues to distance himself from Jeremy Corbyn, he's pulling a Tony Blair: embracing the lukewarm rhetoric of American social liberalism and abandoning the confident language of socialism.
Labour needs a leader who will address economic resentments plainly and unapologetically, not someone who relies on marketing strategies around pints and flags. (Hugh Hastings / Getty Images)
In 1992, an unexpected memo arrived on the desk of Philip Gould, a senior Labour Party strategist. “Dear Phillip . . . ” it read, “Stan is anxious to meet you here in Little Rock.” “Stan” was Stanley Greenberg, a pollster for Bill Clinton. He was asking Gould to fly to Arkansas where James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and himself would advise Clinton’s upcoming presidential campaign.
That spring had been a grim one for Labour. With an increasingly marginalized Margaret Thatcher jettisoned from the Conservative leadership, Labour advisers were confident Neil Kinnock would sweep the 1992 general election. But he didn’t. The Labour leader was beaten by John Major, a “one nation” Tory who immediately got to work privatizing British Rail and passing the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act to crack down on squatters, ravers, and foxhunt saboteurs.
The 1992 election marked four consecutive losses for Labour. The party needed to change, and it was the ex-marketing types like Gould who believed they’d be the ones to do it.
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