Keir Starmer is a decent man, but he lacked key skills for leadership

Jamie Stone is the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and the chair of the House of Commons Petitions Committee.

“Nay lad, we don’t vote Liberal in these parts.”

That was Batley and Spen during a by-election some five years ago. Amid the red-brick, Coronation Street backdrop of this part of Yorkshire, I soon tried a different tact.

“Morning, lovely day isn’t it. I’m out doing the by-election rounds and I’m wondering, are you a betting person? If so, who do you think will win the seat?”

“Oh, well that’s kind of you to ask – it’s got to be Kim…”

So I returned to Westminster with the rather unsurprising intelligence that Labour would comfortably hold the seat. Later that day, who should I bump into on the House of Commons terrace overlooking the Thames but the new Leader of the Labour party Keir Starmer.

“Keir, it’s in the bag. I’ve been up there – without a shadow of a doubt, you’ve won.”

Now the reason I’m telling you this is because Keir’s reaction was interesting. He looked quite startled, almost jumped out of his skin in fact (i’m not that frightening, am I?) – almost as if he’d been caught off guard by his own success. “Do you really think so? Are you sure?”

It struck me then that a different sort of political leader might have replied, “Of course we are, Jamie – you don’t need to tell me that.” Or even: “Isn’t it about time you faced reality and joined the Labour party”. Instead, there was only cautious optimism. The pragmatism of a good, decent person doesn’t always translate to the qualities necessary for leadership. 

That small, fleeting exchange told me something important about Keir Starmer and his leadership style. When the chips were down, certainty did not seem to be his natural habitat.

Another giveaway is the fact that I don’t even once remember seeing him in the House of Commons tea room engaging in gossip and swapping information in between votes. 

Nor did I ever see him in the tea room around the corner, where the real temperature of Parliament is often taken. If you want your finger on the pulse of the House, being amongst your colleagues engaging in this kind of chatter matters more than it might seem. In fact, when previous Prime Ministers were in trouble they were to be seen making the rounds alongside loyal supporters in an often vain attempt to secure support amongst the rank and file of their party’s membership. 

The trouble with power, particularly at the level of Prime Minister, is how easily it can isolate you. It is very easy to retreat into Number 10 and gradually lose the instinctive read of your own parliamentary party who you once socialised with. 

My conclusion – rightly or wrongly – was that Keir is a decent, diligent, hard-working man, but perhaps without that extra gear of bonhomie, that “one of the lads” instinct that can make all the difference in leadership politics. None of this is a criticism; it is simply an observation of a style that he did not adopt. And, unfairly or otherwise, the most superficial airs of charisma can matter enormously when pressure builds.

In retrospect, one can see how a series of political U-turns and certain misjudgements accumulated into a perfect storm that ultimately led to his resignation during the recent political upheaval. And, of course, sometimes fatal misjudgements such as the appointment of Peter Mandelson… 

At the end of all this, I am not a member of his party – but I can say that when I raised issues on behalf of my constituents, Keir Starmer always took the time to respond properly. That alone is not nothing in modern politics.

And when I look back at some of his predecessors, it takes only a moment to recall just how damaging the Johnson and Truss years were. They were periods that did real harm to the reputation of the office of Prime Minister and, in many eyes, to the credibility of British politics itself. That charge cannot fairly be laid at Starmer’s door.

In conversations across Parliament in his final days in office, it was clear that even many who opposed him recognised his diligence and seriousness. I wish him well. There is no doubt he is a respected statesman who has worked hard all his life for the right reasons. 

He kept us out of a war and did his best to safeguard the special relationship with the United States and on the international stage. There can be no doubt that he made our country proud on many occasions. A refreshing change from the leaders that came before him. 

Perhaps now, in a slightly different world, the next Prime Minister might consider finding him a role that will allow him to put these talents to good use. Foreign Secretary might suit him rather well..