The Battle of Holborn and St Pancras
If we are to have a fairer and more compassionate society, where most people have enough, and where the interests of future generations are to be given priority, then we have to challenge the ruling orthodoxy and that means there being an effective opposition. We do not have this at present. Instead we have a fake opposition under Sir Keir Starmer. The mess we are in is not of course not all down to Starmer. The dominance of neoliberal economics, seized upon by Thatcher and loved by billionaires has much to do with it, as has our broken political system.
I first review ‘The Starmer Project: A Journey to the Right’, by Oliver Eagleton, pointing out a glaring omission – the lack of reference to proportional representation (PR). Then I talk about the fight for PR, how I think it could open up politics, and why I think Starmer hates it. Finally I discuss how his resistance might be be broken down. If we don’t get PR the future is bleak indeed.
Starmer the Lawyer
Starmer grew up in a Labour supporting household, and in his youth was a socialist and joined the Labour Party Young Socialists. He chose to follow a legal career, and was called to the bar in 1987. In 1990 he co Founded Doughty Street Chambers, established by thirty liberal barristers. Also he was elected secretary of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers. This society seems to focus on fighting individual abuses of power and miscarriages of justice. Starmer wished to steer it towards legislative fixes such as the Human Rights Act, which although good in themselves were not enough. Starmer himself continued to fight injustice including pro bono support for the McLibel defendants. In October 2003 members of the of the Firle Bonfire Society launched a campaign of intimidation against Travellers which involved arson. Starmer was asked to advise on prosecution, but surprisingly advised against
Throughout his time as a lawyer he has exhibited a curious blend of progressive litigation and service to British state. In 2003 he was appointed as advisor to the Northern Irish Policing Board, but failed to heed Sinn Fein complaints about the violent behaviour of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which was hostile to the peace process.
On the domestic front, both before and after he was appointed DPP in July 2008. He systematically, favoured the police over their victims, did not seem to think that peaceful protest was ever justified, and so advocated the harshest possible penalties. He showed bias against rape victims. He was content to gaol benefit recipients who had mistakenly reported over claims to the local authority rather than the DWP.
On the international front he sought to impose common standard of law on other nations – allegedly to combat national security threats. For this purpose he worked alongside the Foreign Office and intelligence services. He also worked with US attorney general, Eric Holder, and the CPS’s efforts were bankrolled by the Obama administration. He thus ignored the principle of separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive.
When the autistic Gary Mckinnon broke into Pentagon files in search of information on UFOs, Starmer sought to extradite him, and it was only Theresa May who was then Home Secretary who blocked it. McKinnon never made public what he found and the Americans ought to have been grateful for the weakness in their security being revealed with no serious consequences.
Throughout his time as DPP, Starmer sought to ingratiate himself with Rupert Murdoch.
Starmer the Politician
Towards the end of Starmer’s term as DPP, Ed Miliband ran into Tory Attorney General, Dominic Grieve, told him Starmer was thinking of entering politics, and asked him whether he would be a good choice. Grieve replied, ‘Yes he would be outstanding’. Starmer was offered the safe seat of Holborn and St Pancras which was being vacated by Frank Dobson. Labour HQ had to delay the process of selecting Starmer as the candidate to replace Dobson as he (Starmer) had been a member of the party for less than a year. He then sailed to victory in the 2015 general election. Miliband resigned the party leadership and Starmer was invited to stand, but he declined citing lack of experience.
Corbyn stood and was a surprise winner, in a landslide victory, having just scraped enough support from the parliamentary party. He was convincingly supported by members, but was manoeuvred into appointing Starmer to the post of shadow Brexit secretary. There Corbyn’s problems started. Starmer made use of the fact that most of the parliamentary party were against him, and threatening to resign. While Starmer’s policies differed in almost all respects from Corbyn’s, he took a different line pretending a loyalty to Corbyn which he did not honour. He continually disagreed in public with the official line having promised to defend it.
Brexit was the big issue of the day The day after the European referendum in 2016, Jeremy Corbyn called for the immediate invocation of Article 50 – the two-year notice to leave the EU – much quicker than even Theresa May wanted. Although I personally voted Remain and think that leaving the customs union was disastrous, I believe that the way Starmer set about attacking Corbyn’s position was inexcusable. He would promise to speak in favour of Leave and then renege. He would fail to send copies of his speeches, and he would misrepresent Corbyn’s own views. Had Corbyn felt more secure he should at the very least have chucked him off the shadow cabinet. As it was Corbyn was forced to modify his position and this was probably a factor in Labour’s poor showing in the 2019 election.
In the 2020 Labour Leadership contest, Starmer made ten pledges which I think aped the policies of the party under Corbyn. However Starmer had reneged on all of these by Jan 2021. These are all listed at the end of this post. Did he ever intend to honour any of them?
Itould have a bleak future under First Past the Post.
Starmer as Leader
In the 2020 Labour Leadership contest, Starmer made ten pledges which I think aped the policies of the party under Corbyn. However Starmer had reneged on all of these by Jan 2021. These are all listed at the end of this post. Did he ever intend to honour any of them?
It was hoped that Starmer’s leadership would be a unifying factor. The reality is that Starmer, General Secretary, David Evans and other right wingers, by manipulating the rules have ruthlessly persecuted left wingers. expelling them or neutralising them in various ways. Left wingers face the horrible choice of fighting a losing battle for justice within the party, or leaving and forming a new party which would have a bleak future under First Past the Post.
Starmer claims to be rooting out antisemitism, but it seems he believes that anyone who is not a Zionist is antisemitic. He has come down especially hard on Jewish Voice for Labour who are left wing and dare to show support for Palestinians. Who is he to decide who is or is not a Jew? Does he really want Britain to be ruled by the Board of Deputies of British Jews who do not represent the majority.
In his speech at Labour conference he announced some ambitious policies including
- Nationalising the railways
- Getting 1.5million people on the housing ladder
- Reversing the Tory tax cut on high earners, and spending it on the NHS
- Zero-carbon energy system by 2030
- Cleaning up the water industry with severe penalties for failure
This looks good but:
- He is only proposing nationalising rail services as franchises come up for renewal.
- Is extending home ownership benefiting those in most need?
- Reversing the Tory tax cut on high earners, and spending it on the NHS. Yes that’s obvious
- Zero-carbon energy system by 2030? Exactly how is this to be achieved?
- Cleaning up the water industry with severe penalties for failure? This will require massive investment by the water companies for no financial return. Shareholders will sue. Does he have the stomach for this?
I see no reference to tackling the cost of living crisis or tackling the obscene level of inequality. So far his opposition has been confined to criticising scandals and corruption, but not policy.
However most of this depends on the economy being run properly, and I see no evidence that either Starmer or Rachel Reeves have any real understanding of economics other than the neoliberal orthodoxy pedalled by right wing media (including the BBC). but not supported by serious economists. This might not matter if they listened to others, but I fear that Starmer in particular, is too proud to do so. As an example the Bank of England is raising interest rates in order to cure inflation, but this only cures demand lead inflation, not externally imposed inflation including Brexit. This inappropriate; the rules must be changed. Labour should listen to advice on this.
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The Fight for Proportional Representation
Eagleton makes no reference to proportional representation (PR). This is a serious omission.
People have been campaigning for PR since 19th century. It is only recently that most voters have seen as affecting them.
The most effective campaign for PR is Makes Votes Matter (MVM). The common arguments for PR are, that it allows seats in parliament to match votes, that fewer votes are wasted, and that countries that have adopted it do better. Little is said about the fact that PR is the only way of breaking away from the current cartel of Tories and Starmer style Labour.
Support in the Labour party for PR has been growing. At the 2021 conference most members voted for it, but unions did not support it. Since then key unions have had a change of heart, and at the 2022 conference a motion supporting PR was passed.
However, in an interview before the vote with the Observer, Sir Keir Starmer said there would be no instance where we would see him back a change. Asked if Labour’s manifesto would include pledges on electoral reform, he said: “No, it’s not a priority for me.” Not a priority for him, and his right wing MPs in their cosy seats. I believe they would bring the country to its knees rather than allow PR. And now left wing Unison president Andrea Egan has been expelled from the party on the slenderest. If the PR vote is rerun next year it could go against PR because Unison will reverse its policy.
Starmer’s latest con trick to divert us from PR for the Commons is to promote reform of the House of Lords which compared with the Commons under First Past the Post is a haven of sanity.
The Battle for Holborn and St Pancras
Starmer does not want PR and no argument that it is good for the country is likely to influence him. Only his self interest counts. Starmer is the most dangerous politician I have encountered in my 81 years of life. Tories have done evil things but you generally know where they are coming from. Starmer has shown he is never to be trusted. The only hope for us is that he is faced with a credible threat that disaffected Labour members and ex members will combine with Lib Dems and Greens to defeat him at the next election, facing up to the possibility that the seat may go Tory. Those who think this is not a possibility should read up on the Bermondsey bye-election of 1983, in which the two Labour factions spent all their energies on attacking each other, thus allowing the Liberal Simon Hughes to win with a massive majority.
I hope he would give way and put PR in the manifesto. Otherwise Britain will never come out of recession, and England will be a much nastier place.
ANNEX – STARMER’S LEADERSHIP ELECTION PLEDGES
1. Economic justice
Increase income tax for the top 5% of earners, reverse the Tories’ cuts in corporation tax and clamp down on tax avoidance, particularly of large corporations. No stepping back from our core principles. – abandoned Feb 2020
2. Social justice
Abolish Universal Credit and end the Tories’ cruel sanctions regime. Set a national goal for wellbeing to make health as important as GDP; Invest in services that help shift to a preventative approach. Stand up for universal services and defend our NHS. Support the abolition of tuition fees and invest in lifelong learning. = abandoned March 2020
3. Climate justice
Put the Green New Deal at the heart of everything we do. There is no issue more important to our future than the climate emergency. A Clean Air Act to tackle pollution locally. Demand international action on climate rights. – abandoned summer 2020
4. Promote peace and human rights
No more illegal wars. Introduce a Prevention of Military Intervention Act and put human rights at the heart of foreign policy. Review all UK arms sales and make us a force for international peace and justice. – abandoned Sept 2020
5. Common ownership
Public services should be in public hands, not making profits for shareholders. Support common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water; end outsourcing in our NHS, local government and justice system. – abandoned Sep 2020 (CBI conference)
6. Defend migrants’ rights
Full voting rights for EU nationals. Defend free movement as we leave the EU. An immigration system based on compassion and dignity. End indefinite detention and call for the closure of centres such as Yarl’s Wood. – Aug 2020
7. Strengthen workers’ rights and trade unions
Work shoulder to shoulder with trade unions to stand up for working people, tackle insecure work and low pay. Repeal the Trade Union Act. Oppose Tory attacks on the right to take industrial action and the weakening of workplace rights. – abandoned Jan 2921
8. Radical devolution of power, wealth and opportunity
Push power, wealth and opportunity away from Whitehall. A federal system to devolve powers – including through regional investment banks and control over regional industrial strategy. Abolish the House of Lords – replace it with an elected chamber of regions and nations. – abandoned Jan 2021
9. Equality
Pull down obstacles that limit opportunities and talent. We are the party of the Equal Pay Act, Sure Start, BAME representation and the abolition of Section 28 – we must build on that for a new decade. – abandoned summer 2020
10. Effective opposition to the Tories
Forensic, effective opposition to the Tories in Parliament – linked up to our mass membership and a professional election operation. Never lose sight of the votes ‘lent’ to the Tories in 2019. Unite our party, promote pluralism and improve our culture. Robust action to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism. Maintain our collective links with the unions. – abandoned Oct 2020
Money and Democracy 