Keir Starmer and the Politics of Caution : Governing the United Kingdom in the 2020s

How has British politics changed since the arrival of Labour in power after fourteen years in the political wilderness? The Government, elected in 2024, is headed by a leader who many find hard to understand and voters are often unable to discern the government’s political philosophy or the kind of country it wants to create. In this new book, some of the UK’s leading political scientists and historians explore the meaning of this enigmatic government.

Keir Starmer and the Politics of Caution examines the complex links between Starmer and both New Labour and Blue Labour. It ranges across subjects from domestic policy and foreign affairs, to political thought and the structure of the modern Labour Party. The book explores issues of public service management, but also the strategies of government available in a post-Brexit economy, as well as the politics of immigration at a time when Reform UK is gaining popularity.

Ultimately, Keir Starmer and the Politics of Caution argues that there is a shape to the government’s approach: its aim is to build a state that can respond to the demands of a complex and ageing population, in a challenging global environment. It does so, however, in the context of tough financial constraints, some of which are self-imposed and which hobble attempts to bring about far-reaching reform.