'Ungovernable' Britain? Once-Stable Politics in Freefall

'Ungovernable' Britain? Once-stable politics in freefall

Read: 3 min For years, under long-serving leaders such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, the worst mid-term challenge a British prime minister might face was a rowdy jeering in parliament. Now, leaders in the country of the wartime slogan “keep calm and carry on” regularly fear for their jobs, with the latest, Keir Starmer, facing intense pressure this week to quit too. Six people have held the post in a decade of turbulence driven by the wak…

Has Britain become an ungovernable country?

In September 1997, Tony Blair addressed the Labour Party Conference for the first time as prime minister. His approval ratings hovered at around 75 per cent. His majority stood at 179. The British economy was bigger than China and India’s combined. There was a sense of confidence about the country. This was, Blair declared, a “New Britain” which would be a “beacon” for the rest of the world. How darkly comic that promise now feels. Almost 30 yea…