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Analysts say the British turn to Labour was driven less by ideology than by fatigue with the Conservative government and a general distrust of political institutions. The same fatigue is felt in France, where the president is unpopular, and in the United States, where an aging Democratic president leads.
For now, however, diplomats say Starmer’s extraordinary electoral victory will make his political star shine brighter than fellow leaders, who have rarely enjoyed such triumphs in recent times.
Kim Darroch, a former British ambassador to Washington, said: “This major victory means that he will be warmly welcomed at the NATO summit. Everyone wants to talk to him; everyone wants to have their picture taken with him.”
Depending on how the U.S. presidential election goes, Starmer may even find himself in the future in a similar position to another German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who was seen as a bulwark of the rules-based international order during Trump’s presidency.
However, Darroch believes that if Starmer is to take on this responsibility, he must find a way to revive the UK economy. Diplomatic strength is closely linked to economic strength, and Britain’s weak economy – coupled with its decision to leave the European Union – has weakened the country’s role in international affairs.
Darroch also said Starmer should overcome his reputation for caution and try bold action on Europe. He has ruled out rejoining the EU’s vast single economic market because that would mean allowing Europeans to live and work freely in Britain or in a customs union, which would also mean accepting some of the bloc’s tariffs and tax rules.
Any grand deal will involve difficult trade-offs, but Starmer, who opposes Brexit, does not carry the baggage of the Leave campaign like his Conservative predecessor, Boris Johnson, who also cultivated a reputation for sparring with Europeans.
“Labor hasn’t insulted them the way they have with the Conservatives,” said Darroch, a former British ambassador to the European Union. “He doesn’t have that legacy; he doesn’t have that baggage.”
Starmer has travelled abroad extensively during his career as a human rights lawyer. But his expertise is not in foreign policy, and during the campaign he mainly sought to avoid major clashes with the Conservative government on the two biggest issues of the day: the war in Ukraine and the war in the Gaza Strip.
Starmer pledged to maintain Britain’s military support for Ukraine, which it has provided since the start of the war. As Labour leader, Starmer has struggled to move away from the hostility towards NATO and suspicion of the military that developed under his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
Robert Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester, said: “One of the worst things about Corbyn’s time in office was that he had no commitment to Nato, no commitment to defence, and people didn’t like that.”
Israel and Gaza were a more thorny issue for Starmer. He called for a ceasefire but it took a while for that to happen, angering the left wing of the Labour Party as well as its Muslim supporters.
The election was more than expected. Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth, who was expected to be elected to Starmer’s cabinet, unexpectedly lost his seat in Leicester South to independent candidate Shawkat Adam, who declared in his victory speech: “This is for the people of Gaza.”
Even Starmer’s share of the vote in his north London constituency fell by 17 percentage points compared with the 2019 general election, partly due to a challenge from an independent who expressed anger at Labour’s stance on Israel and the war in Gaza.
Israel will likely continue to irritate Starmer, just as it has irritated Biden and Macron, both of whom have been criticized for siding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for too long and for not more forcefully condemning Israel’s war in Gaza.
David Lammy, who was appointed foreign secretary by Starmer on Friday, said his boss’s approach to the war was influenced by his background as a human rights lawyer. He said in an interview in April that Starmer would continue to support Israel but demand that it abide by international law.
“The situation in Gaza is hell on earth,” Lamy said. “Man-made famine, no significant medical assistance, people eating cactus. Labour is doing its best as an opposition party.”
Lammy said a Labour government would blend progressive values with a realistic worldview – something he called “progressive realism”.
“There was a lot of fantasy under Boris Johnson, Theresa May, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak,” Lammy said, referring to the four Conservative prime ministers who preceded Starmer. “They were reminiscent of an era long gone and not focused enough on the challenges of today.”
This article was originally published on New York Times.
By Mark Landler
Photo by Andrew Testa
©2024 The New York Times
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