Rumours of the prime minister’s demise are premature. Yes, the polls look bad – but these days they reflect little more than voters’ passing whims
M
erry Christmas, Sir Keir, and a happy new year. Or as they say in Downing Street these days, make merry for tomorrow you may die. At your drinks for lobby correspondents last week there was reportedly one topic alone. How long had you to go: months, weeks, hours?
We all know bad news sells. Political reporters cannot handle prime ministers sleeping soundly at night. But the terminal gloom around Keir Starmer’s position is absurd. Not a morning passes without rivals being declared, and not an evening without the BBC’s Chris Mason dragged from his supper to stand in the cold. He just frowns and forecasts Armageddon.
Starmer is variously described as the least popular, most rebelled against, most loathed prime minister of all time. Asked for a prediction, the Westminster lobby grasps the most stinging nettle it can find. It currently rates Starmer as finished. It did the same to Margaret Thatcher after two years in 1981.
