Three ways Andy Burnham can avoid Keir Starmer’s mistakes
The Notebook, where the City’s movers and shakers have their say. Today Michael Martins shares his tips for the new cabinet and explains why he’s become obsessed with unhinged neighbours
As you walk into No. 10 today, you are about to inherit all of former PM Starmer’s problems and none of his excuses, so take a beat. Parliament is in recess and some of the media are on holiday, meaning less pressure on you (for now). That in mind, here’s what I’d tell you before your first Cabinet, drawn from the mistakes that cost your predecessor their job.
First, don’t wait a year to speak to business. Starmer’s team spent their first 12 months talking almost exclusively to unions, which gave us policies like the National Insurance rise that are gumming up growth and investment. You don’t need to repeat it. The next election is years off, Labour won’t change leader again any time soon, public support for tax cuts is high, and the economy needs support now. Talk to the people who create jobs, not the ones giving them reasons not to hire.
Second, remember the number 82. This the number of Labour MPs who’d need to rebel for you to lose a vote. Fresh leaders get a honeymoon period, so the odds of a revolt are low. Use it, even if it means things like recalling Parliament from recess early to pass legislation. Don’t try to bring every Labour MP with you – just get things done.
Finally, how you sell a policy matters as much as the policy itself. Starmer’s downfall began because he never found a way to make the unpopular trade-offs behind popular goals sound reasonable. For example, voters support higher defence spending during the Trump era, but he couldn’t convince his own MPs to accept the spending cuts needed to pay for it, an early step towards his eventual downfall.
We don’t need to overcomplicate things. Talk to business early. Use your majority while nobody’s rebelling. And whatever you cut, spend, or promise, explain the trade-off before your own backbenchers’ inboxes do it for you. Starmer lost authority because he never had a vision or an explanation. There’s no need to make the same mistake twice in one Parliament.
TfL should pay my Uber fares
Living reliant on an Overground line, the past heatwaves have been more expensive for me than I expected because my trains have been cancelled at short notice, often whilst I’m waiting on the platform. Ostensibly due to “heat,” I found it odd that non-TfL trains still ran on the track, so perhaps having to pay for my alternative transport, similar to an airline having to pay when they cancel a flight, might act as a deterrent and help to increase TfL’s heat cancellation threshold.
I miss the EU for court enforcement of late payments
One of our now former clients was nearly six months late on payments, ignoring calls and emails, and giving strong “we’re not paying” vibes. Based in an EU country, we quickly discovered that even with our contract based in English law, enforcement was particularly difficult. Even though our solicitors did eventually recover the funds, what became clear was that as a British company, we were sadly in a less powerful position without a mutual court to appeal to.
Thames Water is going bankrupt, but I still have to pay for some reason?
As well reported in CityAM, Thames Water is once again headed towards bankruptcy. Remarkably, I am still legally required to pay them, under threat of a hit to my credit score. This is the equivalent of being mandated to burn hundred pound notes every six months to be able to one day buy a flat. Surely my lender and my government would prefer I exercise relatively good judgement and decide not to throw money into a bottomless pit of a debt-ridden company?
I’ve become obsessed with unhinged neighbours on Nextdoor
I came to look for a cleaner on the Nextdoor app, but I have stayed for the unhinged content. My phone lights up with notifications about parcel theft, public urination, bullying of neighbourhood children, and local speeding, as mums fight about whose kid is the biggest pest to the neighbourhood or which nursery has the worst opening hours and frankly it’s the type of curtain-twitching and community whingeing I live for.
As the internet becomes just a massive pool of curated advertising content for Claude and ChatGPT to hoover up, this is a welcome home of authenticity, even if a little moany and quirky. Outside of the bemoaning of the state of the neighbourhood, it’s also refreshing to see strangers come together to solve problems, as many did in response to the recent large fire in Walthamstow.
Michael Martins is founder at Overton Advisory