Keir Starmer\u2019s government is seen as \u201ca tired bunch of same-again politicians\u201d and must rediscover a reforming zeal and energy, the former UK justice secretary Charlie Falconer has said.<\/p>\n
The Labour peer, who held a number of senior positions under Tony Blair<\/a>, said the government \u201clacked a sense of energy\u201d, and that this was even more important to restore than to pursue any search for a wider narrative or story \u2013 one of the most common criticisms of the government.<\/p>\n Without that, he said, Labour<\/a> risked losing all credit for its big achievements from employment and renters\u2019 rights to green energy and major infrastructure investments.<\/p>\n Falconer, once a close adviser to Starmer who served in his first shadow cabinet, said he believed Starmer was still the right leader for the party but added that missteps in Labour\u2019s first year had resulted in a massive drop in confidence for ministers, which must be regained.<\/p>\n He said that No 10 should learn from agenda-driven cabinet ministers such as Angela Rayner, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood<\/a> on how to unapologetically drive through ideological change on housing, energy and the justice system.<\/p>\n Falconer said he was worried the party\u2019s best announcements were being missed or overshadowed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had a 10-year health service plan which was splendid in every single respect \u2026 but it sort of plopped into an ocean and I don\u2019t believe it has made any impact whatsoever on the public consciousness or on what people think about us in relation to the health service,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we are a quite energetic government, [but] we are characterised as a tired bunch of same-again politicians, and that is not right.\u201d<\/p>\n Falconer said the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn\u2019s Your party<\/a> and the surge in popularity of Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK<\/a> showed people wanted a political movement with a very clear identity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes it all the more important that Labour has a tangible, identifiable political personality. People don\u2019t vote for Diet Coke. They vote for the real thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Falconer said that did not mean the party should lurch further to the right or left. \u201cWas Tony Blair left or right? He was energetically progressive. He was a government that had agency and at the moment we are too easily characterised as a government without agency.\u201d<\/p>\n He reeled off the employment rights bill<\/a> \u2013 \u201ca terrific piece of legislation, very bold\u201d \u2013 the renters\u2019 rights bill<\/a>, the planning bill<\/a> and assisted dying<\/a>. \u201cThis is a reforming and progressive government, there\u2019s a hell of a lot going on, and yet our popularity ratings are falling through the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n Falconer, who advised Starmer\u2019s leadership campaign and his early appointments of ministers, said the prime minister\u2019s personality meant that kind of bombast was difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is absolutely no sense of a confident morning. Part of it is because \u2013 this is a good thing \u2013 the prime minister\u2019s personality is an unflashy personality. He thinks the right thing to do is not to spend your time telling people what you\u2019re doing, it\u2019s putting your head down and doing it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut there is more to leading the country than delivery. There is also the sense you give the country of what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n It would be wrong for MPs or the wider party to conclude that a change of leadership was required, he said. \u201cI do think he\u2019s the right person, indeed. The moment that conversation starts [about leadership change], everybody immediately goes back to Keir and recognises that he\u2019s the best leader for us.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n A 2024 protest in London against cuts to winter fuel payments. Photograph: Lucy North\/PA<\/p>\n