DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Britain's annus horribilis under an accidental PM

Daily Mail​

9 hours ago

In an Ipsos/Mori survey conducted exactly a year after the 1997 election, Sir Tony Blair 's popularity was even greater than when he steered his party to its momentous victory.
Labour was polling at a thumping 54 per cent – 11 points higher than on election day and his personal approval ratings were similarly sky-high.
Crucially, his backbench MPs adored him, having been propelled back to relevance after 18 years in the wilderness. There were a few exceptions, but the idea of large-scale rebellion was unthinkable.
Compare and contrast with Sir Keir Starmer 's abject first year in office. The Daily Mail said from the start that his was a 'loveless landslide'. And so it has proved.
He is the most unpopular incoming PM on record. His approval rating of minus-39 is a staggering 83 points behind where Sir Tony was at the same stage.
Labour is also languishing behind Reform UK in the polls, his backbenchers are in open revolt and he has been forced into three humiliating policy U-turns inside a month.
Meanwhile, the growth he so confidently promised has atrophied, the UK's already frightening debt and deficit are ballooning and his Chancellor's plans to 'fix the foundations' of the economy are in tatters.
After the latest rebellion over welfare reform, she must find upwards of £3.2billion to balance her sums. This is sure to mean more punishing tax rises – breaking yet another flagship promise.
Rachel Reeves is now a lame-duck Chancellor, who will have to seek the permission of her backbench colleagues for any major spending reform. She is clearly living on borrowed time.
Her boss may be a little more secure – but the storm clouds are gathering. Having forced him into climbdowns on two key policies, his dissident MPs smell blood. Rebellion may become an addiction.
Even with the concessions, the welfare Bill remains a mess and may well fail to pass in the Commons on Tuesday. If it does, Sir Keir's authority will be shot, and rumours will swell about a leadership challenge.
It would be no great surprise. In many ways he is an accidental prime minister. Despite his huge majority, only one in five of those on the electoral roll voted for him. He won by default, because the Tories defenestrated their biggest electoral asset, then dissolved into a dysfunctional, unelectable rabble.
Not being a Conservative was enough to sweep Sir Keir into power, but we quickly discovered he has feet of clay. The truth is he's a man of few real convictions and knows little about the politics of government.
He paid billions to surrender the Chagos Islands on spurious legal grounds and absented himself from historic debates on assisted suicide and late-term abortion. Now, in just 12 months, he has lost control of his party.
So, what happens next? Can he recover, or is he a permanent hostage to his party's class-warrior Left?
Either way the next four years could be horrendous for anyone with a private sector job, savings, property or a pension pot.
The Right must use this time to resolve its differences and unite. The Tories and Reform together currently command 46 per cent of the popular vote, comfortably enough for a super-majority.
By 2029, the country will be even more on its knees than today. If neither Kemi Badenoch nor Nigel Farage can beat Labour on their own, it is their patriotic duty to do so together.