Lord Ashcroft: Another new prime minister. But is the UK ungovernable?
Lord Ashcroft analyzes the downfall of former UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, arguing it was due to avoidable mistakes rather than the country being ungovernable. He examines three arguments about governing challenges: maintaining coalitions while making painful decisions, voter impatience due to cost-of-living and media cycles, and unwillingness to accept tax-spending trade-offs. Ashcroft presents monthly survey data showing voters most noticed the winter fuel allowance means-testing, which dominated public perception despite being a small fiscal measure. He categorizes Starmer's actions into unforced errors, occupational hazards, achievements, and nothing noticed. The piece concludes that Starmer's premiership demonstrated bad governance, not an ungovernable UK, as Andy Burnham takes office.
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