He’s not that kind of politician himself, but it seems Keir Starmer is the populist Right’s ‘useful idiot’. Let me explain:
There is a danger to the UK’s democracy today. It comes not only from the populists—the Farages, the Bravermans, and the post-Brexit libertarian right – but also from those who have the opportunity to repair the damage that has been done by decades of neoliberal trickle-downism (and associated nonsense) and choose not to.
The danger is from those who seem to think that if we just keep quiet, act respectable, and move on, the populist tide will recede. Fat chance!
Keir Starmer is not a populist. That much is obvious. But he may be something just as dangerous in this moment: the populist Right’s ‘useful idiot’.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
In his latest Mainly Macro post, economist Professor Simon Wren-Lewis reflects on the damage populist leaders can do when they dismantle the pluralist systems that exist to constrain them. In comparing Trump’s America and Johnson’s Brexit Britain, he writes:
“The reason that successful populists can do so much harm when they gain power is not just because they are inherently evil characters, or lack empathy of any kind, or because they lie all the time, but also because populists dismantle the checks and balances that are inherent in a pluralist democracy.”
That dismantling has already happened. The UK has seen an illegal proroguing of Parliament, the demonisation of judges and civil servants, the hollowing out of the civil service, the undermining of independent institutions, and a media environment increasingly untethered from truth.
Much of this began with Brexit—a populist project sold as liberation but delivered as regression. And rather than roll back that damage, Starmer has accepted its terms. In fact, he is going further – by reducing the checks and balances on the UK’s trading systems in the name of “Growth”.
Far from challenging the narrative that led to Brexit, the Labour leader has worked to reinforce it. He has drawn “red lines” around re-joining the Single Market or Customs Union. He has refused to meaningfully engage with the economic damage Brexit has done. He won’t even say the word.
“The harm US tariffs might do to the UK are only a fraction of the damage leaving the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union have already done and will continue to do,”
Prof Wren-Lewis notes.
And yet Starmer, despite knowing the economics, refuses to act. This is not the realism of a statesman—it is the timidity of a man who has mistaken triangulation* for leadership.
It would be one thing if Starmer were simply hedging, waiting for a mandate to move more boldly. But the danger is that he is locking in the very ideas and institutions the populists put in place:
- In refusing to call Brexit a failure, he normalises it.
- In sacking MPs who support striking workers or speak out against genocide, he delegitimises the political Left.
- In centralising control within the Labour Party, he replicates the same anti-pluralist tendencies he claims to oppose.
This is how populism wins—not just with charismatic firebrands and rabble-rousers, but with cautious technocrats who refuse to confront the moral and institutional rot left behind.
The longer Starmer refuses to name the problem, the more space he leaves for the next populist insurgence.
Nigel Farage isn’t gone—he’s just waiting. And if it’s not Farage, it will be someone else with the same playbook: exploit the anger, blame the powerless, and promise a return to greatness through strength and sovereignty.
When that person’s moment comes, the failure to repair our institutions, to restore trust, and to challenge the lies of the last decade will be Labour’s shame as much as the Right’s.
We are living in a moment when liberal, pluralist democracy is fragile. As Prof Wren-Lewis reminds us:
“We can take the checks and balances of a pluralist democracy for granted, and ignore how important they can be in avoiding some of the more damaging ideas of political leaders becoming a reality.”
Starmer is taking them for granted.
He is assuming that quiet governance will be enough.
It won’t be.
Because when the populists return—and they will—they won’t just be building on the memory of Farage or Johnson.
They will be building on the empty space where Starmer’s political courage should have been.
*For clarity, “triangulation” refers to a political strategy where a leader positions him- or herself between two opposing sides, often by adopting some of the language, policies, or assumptions of their opponents to neutralise them, while still claiming to represent something new or different.
By mistaking “triangulation for leadership,” I mean that Starmer is not offering a bold or morally coherent alternative to the populist-nationalist Right—instead, he’s:
- Accepting their framing (e.g., that Brexit is settled, that immigration is a threat, that economic caution is the only responsible position),
- Marginalising internal opposition, and
- Avoiding clear ideological commitments in favour of “neutral” competence.
It’s not that he agrees with the populists—but he’s trying to neutralise them by mimicking some of their positions or refusing to directly challenge them, hoping to win over their voters without provoking the media.
The problem is: in this context, triangulation is capitulation, because the frame has shifted so far right that trying to appear “moderate” actually cements the populist narrative. This weakens pluralist democracy further, by validating the ground the populists already poisoned.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Keir Starmer is the populist Right’s ‘useful idiot’
He’s not that kind of politician himself, but it seems Keir Starmer is the populist Right’s ‘useful idiot’. Let me explain:
There is a danger to the UK’s democracy today. It comes not only from the populists—the Farages, the Bravermans, and the post-Brexit libertarian right – but also from those who have the opportunity to repair the damage that has been done by decades of neoliberal trickle-downism (and associated nonsense) and choose not to.
The danger is from those who seem to think that if we just keep quiet, act respectable, and move on, the populist tide will recede. Fat chance!
Keir Starmer is not a populist. That much is obvious. But he may be something just as dangerous in this moment: the populist Right’s ‘useful idiot’.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
In his latest Mainly Macro post, economist Professor Simon Wren-Lewis reflects on the damage populist leaders can do when they dismantle the pluralist systems that exist to constrain them. In comparing Trump’s America and Johnson’s Brexit Britain, he writes:
That dismantling has already happened. The UK has seen an illegal proroguing of Parliament, the demonisation of judges and civil servants, the hollowing out of the civil service, the undermining of independent institutions, and a media environment increasingly untethered from truth.
Much of this began with Brexit—a populist project sold as liberation but delivered as regression. And rather than roll back that damage, Starmer has accepted its terms. In fact, he is going further – by reducing the checks and balances on the UK’s trading systems in the name of “Growth”.
Far from challenging the narrative that led to Brexit, the Labour leader has worked to reinforce it. He has drawn “red lines” around re-joining the Single Market or Customs Union. He has refused to meaningfully engage with the economic damage Brexit has done. He won’t even say the word.
Prof Wren-Lewis notes.
And yet Starmer, despite knowing the economics, refuses to act. This is not the realism of a statesman—it is the timidity of a man who has mistaken triangulation* for leadership.
It would be one thing if Starmer were simply hedging, waiting for a mandate to move more boldly. But the danger is that he is locking in the very ideas and institutions the populists put in place:
This is how populism wins—not just with charismatic firebrands and rabble-rousers, but with cautious technocrats who refuse to confront the moral and institutional rot left behind.
The longer Starmer refuses to name the problem, the more space he leaves for the next populist insurgence.
Nigel Farage isn’t gone—he’s just waiting. And if it’s not Farage, it will be someone else with the same playbook: exploit the anger, blame the powerless, and promise a return to greatness through strength and sovereignty.
When that person’s moment comes, the failure to repair our institutions, to restore trust, and to challenge the lies of the last decade will be Labour’s shame as much as the Right’s.
We are living in a moment when liberal, pluralist democracy is fragile. As Prof Wren-Lewis reminds us:
Starmer is taking them for granted.
He is assuming that quiet governance will be enough.
It won’t be.
Because when the populists return—and they will—they won’t just be building on the memory of Farage or Johnson.
They will be building on the empty space where Starmer’s political courage should have been.
*For clarity, “triangulation” refers to a political strategy where a leader positions him- or herself between two opposing sides, often by adopting some of the language, policies, or assumptions of their opponents to neutralise them, while still claiming to represent something new or different.
By mistaking “triangulation for leadership,” I mean that Starmer is not offering a bold or morally coherent alternative to the populist-nationalist Right—instead, he’s:
It’s not that he agrees with the populists—but he’s trying to neutralise them by mimicking some of their positions or refusing to directly challenge them, hoping to win over their voters without provoking the media.
The problem is: in this context, triangulation is capitulation, because the frame has shifted so far right that trying to appear “moderate” actually cements the populist narrative. This weakens pluralist democracy further, by validating the ground the populists already poisoned.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
you might also like
Let’s start the New Year with some hopeful news
More mistakes in the script? Correcting Cameron’s New Year speech
The lies that smashed the unions and destroyed our coal industry