Take it from a real socialist, Keir Starmer isn’t one

Keir Starmer has changed the party, but he may need to change himself (Picture: Reuters)

Yesterday, Keir Starmer shocked the public with claims he is a ‘socialist’ and a ‘progressive’ – adding ‘I’d describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second.’ 

And as a socialist campaigning in the Labour Party for 13 years, no one was more surprised than me – it’s almost laughable. 

I’ve witnessed first-hand Starmer drive a wedge through the once ‘broad church’ party, pulling every lever within it to not only remove socialist members but to abandon policies we campaigned for.

Frankly, if Keir Starmer is a socialist, I’m a Pterodactyl.  

And this is about more than words. 

Democratic socialist ideals brought changes many of us might take for granted, from the weekend to the NHS and the welfare state. 

For me, socialism is based on the fundamental principle that we should have a society with a fairer distribution of wealth, where no one is left behind. 

In 21st-century Britain, that would mean having a safety net for the poorest, high-quality public services funded through taxes on those who can afford it and industries which run in the interests of working people – not shareholder profits.  

That’s what I believe in – but I don’t see much evidence Starmer does.

In fact, since his election to the Labour leadership, the former Director of Public Prosecutions has undergone a complete political makeover. 

Those initial 10 pledges which saw him storm to victory in the leadership election ballot showed the popularity of these policies within the wider membership, a membership that broadly accepted the failings of the previous years but wanted to retain a bold transformational vision. 

Starmer pledged to support common ownership of mail, energy and water, to end outsourcing in the NHS, committed to investing in a green new deal, defended free movement and the abolition of tuition fees, and promised to make Britain a force for international peace and justice.  

He has since reneged on every one of these ‘landmark’ pledges – hardly helping his ‘socialist’ credentials, even before you consider his refusal to call for a ban on arm sales to Israel. 

Starmer is right to acknowledge that after 14 years of Tory rule, the country is in a difficult place. But any socialist worth their salt would call on the wealthiest and big businesses to carry more of the burden in hard times. 

Starmer on the other hand, has spent the past four years in a whirlwind romance with big business. 

Even the most generous interpretation of Starmer’s leadership would struggle to conclude he is remotely sympathetic to socialism.  

His true beliefs are not just illustrated by his policies but by his approach to socialists within the Labour party.  

Particularly worrying accounts include the treatment of the first hijab-wearing MP Apsana Begum, who has alleged that she was targeted by the party as a ‘socialist, Muslim, working-class woman.’

I’ve been a socialist Labour campaigner for the past 13 years

Zarah Sultana, co-chair of the Socialist Campaign Group of MPs, and who spoke up about her experience of receiving racist abuse and death threats, also said Starmer had only directly spoken to her once during his tenure as leader.  

Across the membership the party has clamped down on democratic processes, denying members the right to pass policy motions, giving the National Executive Committee (NEC) new powers to impose shortlists of one, denying local members the right to choose their own candidate, and, in this current election, rewarding Starmer allies with safe seats. 

As a result, the past few years have seen an exodus of socialists from the Labour Party, with 90,000 leaving between 2020 and 2021 alone, and a further 23,000 estimated to have given up their membership amid dispute over the leadership’s stance on Gaza. 

All ayes are on the Hackney North seat of Diane Abbott (Picture: Getty Images)

Far from being deterred by these numbers, Starmer insists he is on the right track, making his transformation of the party a selling point, and showing no sign of bringing an end to the factional warring.  

In the coming days, the Labour NEC will meet to agree on the final list of approved candidates to fight all seats in the July election, with polls predicting a total Tory wipeout.

But instead of this final meeting acting as a unifying rallying cry to take us into the election, Starmer faces a final showdown with MPs who, unlike him, actually are socialists.  

All eyes are on Hackney North, held by Diane Abbott, the first Black woman to be elected an MP and life-long campaigner, where the party continues to weigh undemocratically removing her to replace her with someone loyal to the leadership. 

So does Starmer’s latest announcement mean the Prime Minister will re-adopt the popular policies he once abandoned and embrace socialists with open arms? 

All the evidence suggests otherwise. 

With less than a handful of socialist candidates selected to contest winnable seats, the future Labour government will be made up of MPs from the right of the party, ensuring this is ‘socialist’ Starmer’s legacy. 

Starmer claims he has changed the party and will change the country, but if he wants to describe himself as a ‘socialist’ and a ‘progressive’, he will need to change himself.  

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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