Labour has a chance to ‘unite the left’ and win the next general election, writes Jonathan Walker
Andy Burnham in Downing Street (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has a chance to crush left-wing rivals the Green Party – and it’s all thanks to Keir Starmer. Sir Keir’s announcement that he is resigning as MP for St Pancras and Holborn came as a surprise to his Labour Party colleagues. It looked like a calculated move to overshadow Andy Burnham’s first appearance in the Commons as Prime Minister on Tuesday.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds made his disappointment clear, saying: “I’m quite old school in the sense of I really would prefer a situation where former Prime Ministers stay around.” Others were less polite in private. But whatever former Prime Minister Sir Keir intended, he’s handed his successor a huge opportunity.
There will now need to be a by-election.
And Green Party leader Zack Polanski has dropped heavy hints that he wants to be a candidate.
Mr Polanski issued a statement saying: “We will announce our candidate in due course and they will set out an exciting agenda for the deep change our country needs.
“I am proud of what I have achieved in the first year of my leadership of the Green Party but it is just the start.
“I am very excited for the next chapter for myself, for the Greens and for people across the country.”
Winning in St Pancras and Holborn, a seat held until recently by a Labour leader and Prime Minister, would be a huge coup for the Greens.
But a lot of polling experts say support for the Green Party is falling. They argue that left-wing voters aren’t as impressed with Zack Polanski as they used to be. And, crucially, former Labour voters who defected to the Greens are now returning home.
Sir Keir managed to alienate left-wingers, but Mr Burnham has convinced them to support Labour again, apparently.
If Zack Polanski stands in St Pancras and Holborn but loses to Labour, it will show that the polling experts have got it right.
The Green bubble will have burst, and Labour will be on course to “unite the left”.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski at the Womad Festival (Image: Getty)
And that would have implications for the next general election. Because politics on the right is split between three parties – Reform UK, the Conservatives and Restore Britain.
Politics on the left has also been split, between Labour and the Greens. But if Labour can make the Green Party appear irrelevant and end the divide on the left, then there is a real chance of going on to win the next general election.
Whether that’s a good thing for the country is a big question. The nation urgently needs a government that will control our borders, back business and tackle soaring welfare costs. Labour has shown no sign of doing any of those things so far.
But it’s obviously a good thing for the Labour Party.
Sir Keir may not have intended to help Andy Burnham. But he’s handed the new Prime Minister a massive opportunity which could help Labour stay in power for years to come.