Boris’s partygate troubles mean a welcome dilemma for Starmer

The last time a Conservative government was in the midst of a crisis like partygate, Labour had a choice. Should it stick or twist? Should it passively allow Conservative voters, who had kept the party in power for more than decade, to drift away from John Major, thanks to his troubles over the economy, ‘sleaze’ and the EU, hoping they would remain with Labour come a general election? Or should it make a bold and positive case for why they could actively support Labour? 

Both approaches held dangers. Under John Smith, Labour opted to let nature take its course. At the time, it was described as a ‘one more heave’ strategy. It had merit: the party was, after all, riding high in the polls and was about do well in both the 1994 European and local elections. Smith’s death however saw a decisive change of course: the new leader Tony Blair believed the party had to convince voters of Labour’s merits to prevent any return to the Conservatives, going so far as to announce it was now ‘New Labour’.