Keir Starmer is the United Kingdom’s sixth prime minster in the past ten years. For a country that likes to think of itself as the birthplace of modern democracy and a model of stability in a turbulent world, this is not a good look.

It’s also a painful reminder that democratic politics everywhere is becoming increasingly febrile.

Much of the chaos that has characterised contemporary British politics has been self-inflicted. The self-promoting Conservative prime ministers who preceded Starmer – Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – were clearly part of the problem. But others have made catastrophic errors of judgement, too. David Cameron’s decision to have a referendum about leaving the European Union is an egregious case in point.

Understandably enough, this revolving door of prime ministers led to a desire for stability and predictability. This culminated in the Labour Party’s thumping election win in 2024 under Starmer. He promised to restore public confidence in politics through a process of calm and careful rebuilding.

Starmer’s failures and missteps

It hasn’t quite worked out that way. On the contrary, Starmer has been criticised for being too cautious and unwilling to make the sort of bold decisions that are seen as necessary to address some of Britain’s underlying problems.

He has also been tagged with the unfortunate nickname “Never Here........

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