David Vance SubstackRead More
Let’s be honest about it because Labour politicians are incapable of being so; swapping Keir Starmer for another leader will not solve Labour’s core problem. That’s because the rot lies in what the government is trying to do, not how fast or smoothly it does it! The analysis we hear from so many Labour politicians is therefore wrong at the most basic level!
Here are just a few examples of this;
The digital ID saga is perhaps the clearest example. Ministers try to sell a mandatory, mobile‑based “Brit card” as both a migration control tool and a modern way to access services, despite the fact it was never in Labour’s 2024 manifesto.
Civil liberties concerns, fears about a “papers, please” culture and the risk of locking older or offline workers out of jobs saw support collapse from majority backing to net opposition within just a few months. The eventual U‑turn – suggesting they would drop the compulsory element exposed a deeper error of judgment about whether people want the State at the centre of their identity and working lives in the first place. A different leader selling the same scheme will hit the same wall.
Then there was the attempted clampdown on Welfare. It showed exactly the same pattern. Labour tried to slightly tighten welfare reform, only to abandon this completely before a vote when over 130 of its own MPs threatened to revolt. We need to realise that this fiasco wasn’t a timing issue; it reflected a basic clash between the policy and Labour backbenchers commitment to keeping Welfare intact. Any successor who still wants to change benefit culture will face the same rebellion from backbenchers whose seats depend on those voters. You will have noticed there is NO mention of Welfare Reform in the King’s Speech last week.
Workers’ rights and tax tell a similar story. Labour trumpeted “day‑one” rights and then rewrote them so unfair‑dismissal protection only really bites after six months. It promised no national insurance rises for “working people” then raised employer NI and lowered thresholds, relying on a technical distinction that most voters don’t buy.
The message from the May 7th elections was that it’s not the speed of delivery that is the problem, it’s not just Keir Starmer who is the problem – it’s Labour itself which is the problem! We change that by voting them out!
