Ailbhe Rea: Starmer’s Challenging Future Without a Policy Change

You almost wouldn’t know that last week Keir Starmer faced the worst crisis of his premiership. It’s a sunny day of full pomp and ceremony here in Westminster for the French state visit, and Emmanuel Macron is addressing parliament. The political chat is all about whether Macron will give Starmer the migrant deal he wants, and whether Starmer can get Trump to implement their steel deal in time for tomorrow.

You could be fooled into thinking that politics has returned to normal. But under the surface here in Westminster, things are far from the usual. The prime minister did face the worst crisis of his premiership last week, Rachel Reeves did move markets with her tears, the government was forced to gut all of its welfare reforms at the eleventh hour to avert defeat at the hands of its own MPs, and there is still a black hole in the finances as a result (in fact, it’s even bigger than we first thought).