Alison Bennett's Monday Mail: Unforced Errors
Welcome to my Monday Mail.
As your Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Sussex, I write a short email each Monday sharing what I have been doing and thinking about in the past week. Anyone can sign up to receive the Monday Mail, so feel free to share this email with friends and family who might be interested too.
Not here (for much longer) Keir
So now we know what last week seemed inevitable - that Keir Starmer will be stepping down as Prime Minister. It is incredible to me that in under two years, a prime minister who won 411 seats in the general election has had to go. Where did it all go wrong, and how did it go so wrong so quickly?
I have never envied the tough international situation that Starmer faced: Putin’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine, Donald Trump winning a second presidential term, and the spiralling conflict in the Middle East, are all challenges that any leader would struggle to navigate. However, on international affairs Starmer is generally thought to have done a decent job. The trouble came on the domestic front.
Unforced errors
In tennis, pundits talk about unforced errors, when the player loses a point not because their opponent played an unreturnable shot, but because they miss-hit the ball. Starmer’s time in office is marked by a series of unforced errors.
- Cuts to the winter fuel payment
- Increasing Employer National Insurance contributions
- The family farm tax
- The proposals to cut welfare
- Appointing Peter Mandelson as our US Ambassador (admittedly this falls into international relations)
Starmer ultimately changed his mind on all of those except NICs. As a result, the cost of employing people remains higher than before, which is bad for businesses, economic growth, and many charities and other not-for-profit employers.
Those are the national issues that affect everyone, but locally, the botched attempts at reorganising local government leading to local elections being cancelled and reinstated, cuts to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund, and the effective abolition of the International Baccalaureate are affecting us here in Mid Sussex.
The tragedy of Keir Starmer
I recommend reading this Ian Dunt substack if you want a more comprehensive and emotive description of why it all went wrong.
Now we wait
On Monday morning as Starmer gave his resignation speech, his voice cracking with emotion, I felt sorry for the man, but he had to go.
Now we wait for Andy Burnham to take office, presumably in July. I will hold fire on sharing my thoughts about Burnham this week - there will be time in the future for that - but what we do know is that whoever is in charge faces the same geopolitical and economic forces that have challenged the current government. The question is whether Burnham will simply be a better frontman for the same policy agenda, or whether he will want to shake things up. Time will tell.
Getting in touch
My parliamentary email address is: alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk. If you need my help, please get in touch.
Best wishes,
Alison
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