Change and Continuity in British Politics: Can the Starmer Government’s Approach to Governance Resolve the Crisis in the British State without Radical Reform?

In this article, the key dilemmas that will confront the new Labour administration in Britain during its initial period in power are examined. The Starmer government is seeking to use the state pragmatically to improve British economic performance, stem the crisis in public services and strengthen the strategic capacity of Whitehall. However, embryonic approach represents a melding of disparate ideas and traditions that have yet to cohere into a cogent model of statecraft. As a result, the strategy is replete with tensions and dilemmas that make the task of governing competently extremely challenging in the current national and geo-political environment. Owing to the scale of the crises that Labour has inherited, the article considers whether a statecraft approach that places greater emphasis on continuity over change is viable in the absence of a much needed, radical vision for a reimagined British state.