Starmer is asking: what is the point of a Labour Party that never wins?

he thing about the Labour Party is that it has a deep-rooted aversion to winning and the thing about Sir Keir Starmer is he loathes losing. Everyone who plays five-a-side football with Starmer, who is 60, testifies to his competitive spirit. On a recent visit to Scotland he insisted on playing extra time in a game against Labour MSPs until his team scored the decisive, winning, golden goal.

Starmer is a more interesting politician than he appears. This is unusual. His leadership has been a reclamation project, a kind of political repair shop restoring a knackered Labour Party to the point at which it can once again be useful. And this week he has shown he is getting ready to be prime minister.

When Starmer

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Starmer is asking: what is the point of a Labour Party that never wins?

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