LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won his job after leading his party to a massive victory in 2024. Less than two years later, he resigned as his party rebelled in the wake of widespread losses in local elections.
Starmer’s popularity plunged amid a struggling economy, a series of policy missteps, one particularly poor appointment and a perceived lack of vision.
The combination of challenges led to a thrashing for his Labour Party in local elections this spring and calls to step down that cleared a path for a would-be challenger to step forward and ultimately force him aside Monday.
This is a look at how his short-lived premiership unraveled.
I’d love for you to be right. I just see this whole thing more cynical. To me the economic arguments were always just a fig leaf so that people who weren’t open racists could hide their shameful views on migration behind it. I’m not talking about the people in Belfast trying to light houses of migrants on fire. Those assholes are out in the open racists. I’m talking about your uncle or colleague who openly has “respectable” conservative views and mostly seems alright but when he’s with his buddy’s having a pint is showing his less palatable ideas.
There is another way of looking at this. People really believed those economic arguments and voted for that. If that’s true they are dumber than a sack of rocks. Idk what is better.
Most people don’t understand economics or international trade, so weren’t equipped to spot the lies. They’re not especially dumb. They’d just had about 40 years of trade barriers being removed and things getting ever easier, without much idea how it was elsewhere. Some Leave campaigners realised this and exploited it, aided by some journalists who prefer to have years of juicy bad news than a functioning country. Of course, some Remain campaigners tried to explain it, but Leave just flat denied it, lied and sometimes shot the messenger (“people have had enough of experts”).
But eventually, reality gets more and more difficult to deny.