Starmer’s election victory: from the politics of support to the politics of power

Keir Starmer was elected Labour leader in 2020 after the party’s worst election defeat since 1935. Just four years later, the party returned to government with a landslide majority. Scholars have explained the dominance of the Conservative Party through an analysis of the ‘politics of support’ and the ‘politics of power’. This article applies that framework to Labour, focussing on how support was built in the run up to 2024. It examines the politics of support across the party organization, parliament and, most importantly, the electorate. I argue that Starmer’s bid to achieve electoral support relied on two main factors: a ‘decontamination’ strategy related to the party’s immediate past; and a cautious approach that minimized policy commitments and downplayed the role of ideology. The approach was electorally successful, but resulted in shallow support, gained in large part from removing reasons voters in target seats had previously not supported the party. The article concludes by discussing the challenges this strategy of support presents for the ‘politics of power’.