co-author: Adam Perry
It has now been one year since Boris Johnson won the 2019 general election and became the UK’s third consecutive Conservative prime minister. The Labour party has seen many ups and downs as the Opposition under Johnson. But what has really changed?
Labour have risen in support from 33 per cent to 40 per cent in the polls since the 2019 general election, whilst the Conservatives have seen a fall of 43 per cent to 35 per cent over the past year.
An inside source in the Parliamentary Labour Party told Raven: “It has been a year of progress for the Labour Party and that has been reflected in the polls. We hope to build on this in the new year with strong performances in the local elections and create the foundations for a successful General Election in 2024.”
According to Statista, if a general election were to happen on December, 12, 2020, based on current voting intentions, Labour would receive the highest number of votes.
Jeremy Corbyn outlined his intention to step down as leader of the Labour party shortly after the 2019 general election. Keir Starmer took over in April 2020, after winning the Labour leadership election.
Corbyn was regarded as a “divisive” leader which drove some Labour voters away during last year’s general election. Whilst Starmer has strong opposition from the left of the party, he is generally regarded as a less polarising figure.
Anti-Semitism started being seen as an issue within the party after Corbyn’s election as leader in 2015. On various occasions, he has stood in support of works alleged to be anti-semitic, including a mural in Brick Lane and a book by economist J A Hobson.
Amid accusations of anti-Semitism within the Labour party, he was widely criticised for being too slow to take action against it.
An investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) found “unlawful” acts of harassment and discrimination in the party during Corbyn’s leadership.
Starmer has made tackling anti-Semitism a top priority. He met with Jewish community leaders shortly after being elected and has been widely praised for the move.
However, it is yet to be seen whether Starmer is able to unite the Labour party over Brexit.
Corbyn lost support as leader over Brexit. He officially backed the Remain campaign ahead of the Brexit vote. However, it took months for him to officially back either campaign and has a long history as a Eurosceptic which undermined his stance.
In the run up to December 31, the official end of Britain’s EU exit transition period, Starmer has been pushed to choose whether Labour will endorse Boris’ Brexit deal.
On Thursday, Starmer said: “If there is a deal, and I hope there’s a deal, then my party will vote in the national interest – not on party political lines, as he is doing.”
During his time as leader, Starmer has removed several members of the pro-Corbyn faction from the shadow cabinet and has assembled a strong team behind him including Lisa Nandy, Annelise Dodds and Nick Thomas-Symonds in an attempt to unite the party.
The rise in Labour Party support has also come as a result of failings in the Conservative government.
Confusing messages about Coronavirus has seen trust in the Conservatives drop, compounded by the Dominic Cummings scandal, which saw the prime minister’s then Chief Advisor drive across the country to Durham during a national lockdown.
Paul Howell, Conservative MP for Sedgefield, spoke to Channel 4 about the incident: “It sent exactly the wrong message in terms of us and them. There is not an us and them and I cannot make any excuses for what happened with that.”
(Top image: Pixabay)