Keir Starmer was elected as Labour leader nearly 18 months ago on a promise to respect the radical policy agenda developed in the 2017 and 2019 manifestos and to unite the Party.

The Policies of 2010-2015 Didn’t Work

The concern from many on the left was that the election of Starmer would lead to a retreat to the type of politics adopted by the Labour leadership from 2010 to 2015, with its failure to present a genuine alternative to the Tories; to take stands against austerity, privatisation and welfare cuts and the involvement in the cross-party Better Together campaign with the Tories in Scotland. The 2015 General Election result, in particular the meltdown of the Party in Scotland, and indeed the experiences of our sister parties across Europe and beyond, showed that Labour could not carry on with that approach – leading to many long-standing Labour members as well as new supporters turning to Jeremy Corbyn during the summer of 2015.

The Corbyn leadership campaign was deliberately insurgent, based on a politics of hope and on a platform of radical policies which had been developed by the left in Parliament and within the trade union movement over a number of years. Many of those attracted by the campaign saw it as an opportunity to bring social movement politics and a transformative agenda into the heart of British politics.

Old Faces

It is still far from clear what the big ideas of the Starmer leadership will be. Most of his senior staff are former Liz Kendall and Owen Smith supporters (not leadership campaigns remembered for bold new ideas), and the now General Secretary is an official from the Blair era. With a lack of high profile left wingers in the Shadow Cabinet, Starmer’s leadership is not reaching out to build an inclusive team, contrasting sharply with Jeremy Corbyn’s appointments in 2015.

We Still Need Radical Policies


A massive economic and environmental crisis faces us. Labour needs clear interventions to protect working class communities with a radical green investment strategy. Our role is to demand and work on the detailed policies which are needed for the green industrial revolution; well-funded public services, full employment, and workers’ rights. COVID- 19 makes socialist politics more required than ever.

The major achievements in democratising the Party over the last 5 years have been the revitalisation of Annual Conference, CLP’s and trade unions being able to nominate in leadership contests, and the empowerment of women’s conference. The cancellation of last year’s annual conference was a significant loss, but this year the left was able to put transformative policies right back at the heart of the Party.

Our task now is to unite members, not only with a strong voice to defend and advance the policy programme we secured. United and determined, the left has the chance to do just that.

Katy Clark has been a Labour MSP for West Scotland since May 2021, and previously served as MP for North Ayrshire and Arran from 2005 to 2015

Image credit: “First virtual PMQs and Ministerial statement on Coronavirus 22/04/2020” by UK Parliament is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0