Starmer seems to have learned from Harold Wilson to avoid ideology

The term “Starmerite” used by Lara Spirit in The Times today suggests that the man has an ideology that we are invited to follow. If he has he’s kept it well hidden, and all the better for that. He’s the ultimate political pragmatist, certainly in his pre election persona which concentrated , understandably, on Opposition – the job the nation actually paid him to do. 

But governing is different – now he has to deal with “events” , and they are unpredictable. The last Labour Prime Minister had to deal with the event of the American sub prime economic collapse which became global. He did it exceptionally well, much good it did him electorally! His Tory successor created his own “events” , not least two wholly unnecessary referendums. Scotland was close to being lost – Europe was. A disastrous premiership caused by cowardice and the failure to take on the extremists as a predecessor John Major had.

The term “Blairite” is still commonly used – generally by the Hard Left to abuse “centrists”. They ignore the fact that to succeed as a Labour Prime Minister you have to “govern from the centre” as Harold Wilson put it. Starmer knows that.

Wilson managed to have good relations with the United States despite shrewdly refusing Lyndon Johnson’s plea to send British troops to Vietnam. Earlier Attlee had not done this in Korea and later Blair also committed troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, equally disastrously. Starmer needs, again, to learn from Wilson. 

There was no such thing as a “Wilsonite” ideology. Sir Keir is the same. Good.