Keir Starmer’s boundless vanity
Keir Starmer is portrayed as a leader whose self-belief appears impervious to criticism or evidence of misjudgement. The article suggests his political survival stems more from the collapse of the previous government than from his own merits. It questions his decision-making, particularly regarding appointments and alleged misleading of Parliament.
- ▪The article criticizes Keir Starmer's leadership, citing the Lord Alli affair and pressure on civil servants over Peter Mandelson's ambassadorship.
- ▪Starmer is accused of misleading Parliament about Downing Street's actions, with testimony contradicting his statements.
- ▪The piece argues that Starmer's 2024 election majority resulted from public rejection of the Tories rather than personal appeal or vision.
- ▪Senior civil servants' departures are described as a loss of institutional memory due to Downing Street's conduct.
- ▪The author compares Starmer to Alec Guinness's character in The Man in the White Suit, suggesting he is blind to his own flaws.
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Keir Starmer’s boundless vanity The PM believes in nothing beyond his own self-preservation. dataLayer.push({ event: 'author', author: "Gawain Towler" }) Gawain Towler 3rd May 2026 Share Topics Politics UK Want unlimited, ad-free access? Become a spiked supporter. There is a peculiar kind of vanity that immunises its host against reality. Not the vain man who checks his reflection in shop windows, nor the narcissist who merely craves applause, but the man whose self-belief has calcified into something geological, impervious to rain, to wind, to the accumulated evidence of catastrophic misjudgement. Sir Keir Starmer is such a man.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at spiked.
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