Labour’s mistakes: is it too late to turn things around?
4/2/202631 min
In part one of a special two-part interview, Kiran Stacey talks to the political scientist Prof Robert Ford about Labour’s so-called ‘landslide win’, the long-lasting impact of Brexit on our politics, and the lessons that should have been learned from the 2024 election. Is it now too late for Starmer to turn things around?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/politicspod
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 0· Soundbite0:00
This is The Guardian.
Kiran Stacey· Host0:01
[upbeat music] Hello. I had a really interesting conversation with a political scientist and academic, Professor Rob Ford, a couple of weeks ago about our political landscape and how big moments like the Gorton and Denton by-election and the rise of Greens and Reform UK all stemmed from Labor failures after the 2024 election. There was so much to cover that we've ended up splitting the interview up over two episodes. Here is part one. Enjoy. [upbeat music] We've got a special episode of Politics Weekly for you today. I'm joined by Professor Rob Ford. He's an academic and a political scientist, and he's written about right-wing politics, Brexit, and of course, his incredible election series, the latest of which covers the 2024 general election. Rob, I thought we could start there, if that's okay, because although it m- might seem like ancient history, given how much has happened since the last general election, actually, I think it still frames what's happening today in some really interesting ways.
Robert Ford· Guest1:11
I mean, it does feel like a long time ago, but the summer of 2024 was a kind of victory lap for the people who'd been strategizing for Starmer since 2021, and they regarded, like, the, the, the whole result as a resounding success for their strategy.
Kiran Stacey· Host1:27
Reading your book, I think one of the things that jumped out