Former British PM Keir Starmer and new PM Andy Burnham.
With a drastic decline in public trust of politicians and public institutions, it’s not surprising that Starmer’s landslide fizzled before he could fully milk it. The palace coup that forced out the Prime Minister was not because Labour MPs loved him less, but because they love themselves more. Wheeling in Burnham from the shadows to No.10 was a move by the Backbenchers to buy time and fend off the lunacy of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party.
It was painful to watch him outside No. 10 on Monday. Despite his immaculate suit and well-groomed hair, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer looked like he was facing a public execution.
The bespoke podium, which had been in use since David Cameron’s tenure, looked more like a stake, and Starmer’s valedictory like a miserere before the bullets would be discharged.
The carnage that British politics has become has just claimed its sixth prime minister in a decade. Britain is not doing as badly as Italy – yet – which had 50 governments and 15 prime ministers between 1946 and 1994, but at the current rate, it’s not doing badly at becoming Europe’s next Britaly, as The Economist once described it.
