The left's language barrier

Why can’t Labour speak plan English?

Today Keir Starmer made a big speech setting out Labour’s ambitions and aims for this government. There was some good stuff in there that really showed that they do to some extent understand the discontent people have currently with their lives. Unfortunately, the speech was delivered by, well, Keir Starmer.

There was lots of talk of missions and milestones And vagaries around things like children being “ready to learn” at the age of five. It all felt very carefully crafted and, frankly, pretty soulless.

One of the most remarked upon and standout moments in the speech is when Starmer said that populism is not the answer to Britain's problems. I couldn't agree more with that, but I think there's a big issue in how the message is being delivered.

For a start, I don't think most people in the UK could define the term populism. And that's not me being elitist, because I'm not sure I could perfectly define it myself.

Deadpan politicians talking in PR speak and using words that normal people don't understand are the very opposite of what the left needs right now. (I know calling this government the left is a massive stretch, but you know what I mean!)

What's more, Labour aren't being upfront about why they've staged this huge stump speech now. They won't admit it is because they are worried about the tide that is turning in international politics, they won't level with the people that they are scared about the very real prospect of a Reform government after the next election. Unlike his counterparts, farage and Johnson, Starmer is careful with his words to the point of being calculated. It's just a shame his calculations don't add up.

What we need to save off fascism now more than ever is a Labour politician, or indeed any leftist politician, with a fucking personality. People may say “well, we tried Corbin and that didn't work” but Corbin, for all his decent leftist policy, is not a charismatic figure. Certainly not when he's put in a studio setting. He can be a firebrand from the stage on protest marches but he doesn't have the charm and ease that a media personality needs in order to become a successful political leader, like it or not. A friend of mine mentioned Mick lynch to me today and, honestly, he is the best example I can think of of. Somebody who really could straight-talkingly lead a leftist movement who would challenge the right in their pretence to speak to and care for the “every man”.

So much of why working class people identify with millionaires like Donald Trump and Nigel farage is because they speak plainly. We may feel that they are lying. We may feel like they are dog whistling. But they are using language that people do in everyday speak. Meanwhile, labour is still talking with the Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson, Whitehall PR isms of the 1990s. Backlash to the small pieces of progress that were made under the Blair government is rising at an alarming rate and we can't fight it with sound bites.