The Guardian View on Labour's Difficult Year: Denial of Hard Choices is No Longer an Option
Labour has faced a difficult year, with Keir Starmer lacking a convincing national renewal agenda, making a leadership challenge plausible after the local elections in May. British politics has increasingly rewarded tactical messaging over candour, hindering long-term governance due to short-term fixes and brief prime ministerial tenures since David Cameron. The UK's structural problems—such as stagnant wages, high living costs, and malaise dating from the 2007-08 financial crisis—predated Starmer but have been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and Brexit.
Policy-making is often seen as a zero-sum game, driven by tight fiscal rules and frequent departmental funding raids, fueling public resentment and demagogic debates over resource allocation. In November’s budget, Chancellor Jeremy Reeves warned of broad-based tax rises, but this plan breached manifesto pledges and was avoided; instead, the budget relied on stealth taxes and optimistic growth projections.
The persistent influence of "cakeism"—the belief that voters can enjoy benefits without costs—echoes Boris Johnson’s Brexit-era rhetoric and continues to pervade debates on social care and climate funding. Labour’s 2024 cakeist manifesto promised change within budget constraints, but by 2025 that approach proved unworkable. The coming year, 2026, demands a clearer and more honest programme.
The frequent replacement of prime ministers in British politics illustrates systemic failures to address complex problems effectively. As a result, MPs may seek new leadership to navigate these ongoing challenges.
