Mother Of Instable Parties

Instability strikes the once world’s largest empire that collapse after its victory in the Second World War. Half a dozen prime ministers have come in and gone out in quick succession. Keir Starmer became the United Kingdom’s sixth prime minister to call it quits in a decade. Now, Andy Burnham, 56, is all set to become the seventh prime minister in the specific timeline to lord over London’s 10 Downing Street later today. 

The former mayor of Greater Manchester is described by the British press as charming and combative. He will now have to translate that charm into action and display his combative skill in tackling the slowing economy apart from shoring up the international image as nothing more than an American sidekick which unhesitatingly obliges Washington’s whims and fancies.  

As the country’s exit from the European Union completes a decade, Britons are wondering whether they made a mistake in withdrawing from the economic grouping after a referendum held by Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. Leadership is knowing when to strike, assert and quit. Timing makes a lot of difference. Starmer was slow and hurt the prospects of his party. But the party has time to recover. But will the remaining three years be enough given the plethora of issues in a changing world order that aggravates the situation.

Will the change in leadership be able to expand the Labour space in public approval ratings? Change in the face heading a government is normal for almost a decade. Quitting game in both the Conservative camp and Labour boat is no rarity. Reform UK Party’s leader Nigel Farage on last fortnight resigned from his parliamentary seat in the wake of persistently intense condemnation of a five million sterling pound-gift from a billionaire businessman, which critics suspected could be for influence peddling. However, he hopes to win back the seat in the imminent by-election as a vindication of his innocence. 

Warning “enough is enough” against the British press, Farage hopes to give the country’s two major political parties a tough challenge in the next general election to be held in 2029 at the latest. The House of Commons is represented by 14 political parties. Critics consider the Reform Party to represent “imperial nationalism” even as public surveys show that about 40 per cent of Britons today regard imperial Britain’s past as a matter of pride.

Britain left UNESCO at least in a huff but actually following the footsteps of the US, it first cousin on the other side of the Atlantic. Although the two severed colonial ties in 1776 for all practical purposes and official positioning in 1787, the two tangoed in the two World Wars and claimed victory over Germany and its axis allies. Russia has already indicated little prospects of the new government changing the existing British policy, which could be so because Burnham has not given any hint of taking a stance different from his predecessors’. Apparently, that would be too risky and opening more fronts than he is already saddled with.   

The incoming prime minister knows the implications of taking drastic measures—at least in the beginning of his new role. His immense challenge is to maintain the difficult balance between new initiatives with his stamp firmly on them and yet accommodating the views pouring in from different shades of the Labour grey. 

Use of party whip in parliament has inspired fear and resentment. In many parliamentary democracies, the whip has been brandished harsh, leaving little or no room for airing alternative ideas in governance or party policy. Leadership should respect conscientious stands of opposing views within an organisation. Frequently ramrodding measures entirely on the intuition of a small coterie saps a party’s energy and zeal for fresh alternative course. 

Reform Party might have suffered a bad patch on account of the scandal Farage was embroiled in. Britons are clear-minded enough to know not to throw the baby along with the bathwater from a tub. The nation’s political culture expects a party to expect a leader involved in a serious controversy to step aside. If that does not happen, the party members hoist a banner of rebellion, ensuring the expected resignation. Even while quitting office, Starmer offered a few valuable lessons for organisational discipline at the top and intra-party norms.

Valued lessons

Burnham has hinted priority on party discipline. Deterioration of organisational discipline is a topic coming regularly from whoever are at the top. Venting opinions freely and pointing out at drawbacks and shortfalls should not be construed as rebellion. He should, however, note that his predecessor had led the party to a stunning majority in the July 2024 election, Labour won 411 seats in the 650-seat House of Representatives against the Conservative Party’s 121 and the Liberal Party’s 72 seats. 

Yet Starmer, 63, is shortly leaving the No. 10 even if his party stands with the comfortable majority he helped obtain. The council election results in May are the chief cause of his exit.  In the mother of parliaments, once a prime minister exits, s/he rarely gets a second chance to bounce back at London’s most prominent address at 10 Downing Street. 

Former prime minister Tony Blair, who led the Labour thrice in winning general elections, was on the brink of joining the United States in invading Iraq in 2003 on the deliberately false accusation of the latter possessing banned weapons of mass destruction. He more than hinted that Labour MPs would have to fall in line with the government’s decision.

On the eve of being nominated comfortably without having to attract a second round between the two candidates who drew the most votes among the pack, Burnham wrote to Labour MPs assuring them freedom to air their views without reprisals. He added: “The whips’ office should be our HR department, not something to be feared or where discipline is used to stifle debate.” As far as the British public is concerned, Labour should not just keep changing prime ministers but fuel the economy and salvage some of the country’s international image as a valid player.  

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)