Could Keir Starmer succeed as the next leader of the Labour party?

During his last days as manager of Manchester United it was widely thought that whoever came after Sir Alex Ferguson would have an impossible job. The same might be said of Jeremy Corbyn’s successor as Labour leader.

For while Sir Alex won every trophy in club football and Corbyn has won nothing at all there is a paradoxical similarity. Because in losing, Corbyn has made many Labour members feel as happy as Manchester United fans did about winning the treble. Corbyn was elected leader in 2015 promising to speak for members rather than talk down to them about the hard choices that needed to be made if the party wanted to win power, as Tony Blair had. Corbyn promised to return the party to true Labour values, to stop pandering to the concerns of wavering Conservative voters and instead enthuse about socialism. In short, Corbyn made members feel good about themselves and they loved him for it: the 2017 election even suggested this approach was a route to power.