Keir Starmer’s Labour has just suffered a catastrophic local election result, losing around 65 per cent of the council seats the party previously held — a political wipeout by any measure.

Imagine, for a moment, that these same results had landed in May 2019. Or 2018. Or even 2017 – when Jeremy Corbyn was leader. Would Labour MPs and mainstream commentators have accepted this result with the resignation we’re seeing now?

Would the BBC, Guardian and Sky News be nodding solemnly and repeating lines about “a complex political landscape” and “mid-term turbulence”?

No. They would not.

• They would have called for Corbyn’s immediate resignation.
• They would have declared that Labour was “unelectable.”
• They would have said the British public had delivered its “verdict” on Corbyn’s “extremism.”
• And Labour’s own right wing — the same MPs and grandees who now shrug off disastrous showings — would have queued up for the camera crews to deliver venomous soundbites and orchestrate a leadership coup by breakfast.

But it’s not Corbyn’s Labour losing two-thirds of its council seats.

It’s Starmer’s – the man who was supposed to “restore electability.”

The man who purged the left, changed the rules, courted business leaders, and has been hailed by the media establishment as the “grown-up in the room.”

So what now? Where’s the accountability?

Broken promises, broken politics

Let’s be clear: Starmer was sold to Labour members and the public as a steady, strategic operator who would bring Labour back to power.

His own leadership pitch in 2020 was to “unite the party,” “maintain our radical values,” and “build on the 2017 manifesto.”

He did none of those things.

He has purged the left from the party, presided over plummeting local membership, shown contempt for trade unions, backtracked on every major policy commitment from his campaign — and now, after years of internal discipline and rightward drift, he’s led Labour into a staggering electoral collapse.

And still, nobody on the inside dares speak out.

Compare that to the relentless attacks on Corbyn, even after Labour’s 2017 general election result saw a net gain of 30 seats, the highest Labour vote share since 2001, and the defeat of Theresa May’s majority government.

Back then, that wasn’t good enough for Starmer’s wing of the party. But now? With councils turning blue or collapsing into No Overall Control, it’s suddenly not Starmer’s fault.

It’s “voter apathy.”

It’s “expectations management.”

It’s “mid-term blues.”

What hypocrisy.

Time to cash in his chips?

Labour isn’t supposed to exist as a management consultancy for the political elite. It exists to win power in the interests of working people — and deliver real change.

If Keir Starmer is incapable of winning even local elections, what is the point of his leadership?

More importantly, how long are Labour members and supporters expected to put up with this double standard?

Why is a leader who delivers failure treated as a statesman, while one who delivered hope was treated as a liability?

Why is the democratic voice of Labour’s base still being ignored — whether that base is in the membership, the unions, or the party’s heartland communities?

The verdict is in – just not the one Starmer wants

Keir Starmer has had five years as Labour leader.

He’s had the media’s goodwill. He’s had the support of big donors and business leaders. He’s had free rein to reshape Labour in his image.

And now he’s reaping what he’s sown: massive losses, growing disillusionment among voters, and a base that no longer knows what Labour stands for.

If Corbyn had delivered these results, his resignation would already be splashed across every front page in Britain.

So why isn’t the same being demanded of Keir Starmer?

It’s time for a reality check.

Labour needs a leader who can inspire, organise, and win — not one who fails and stays protected by double standards.