Lessons from history for Keir Starmer as he takes Labour’s leadership in a national crisis

These are almost unprecedented times, but there’s still a thing or two the new leader of the opposition can learn from his predecessors, writes Sean O'Grady

Sir Keir may need more than one election to get Labour back into power (AFP/Getty)

Becoming leader of the opposition at a time of national crisis is a moment of opportunity – but also of danger. The opportunity is obvious: a chance to make your name, boost your party’s standing and do something for the people you purport to represent. The danger is that no one is listening to you.

At a moment when a prime minister is under the most severe of pressures, a skilful opposition leader can gain some respect and political profile just by doing their job effectively. The key to doing so is to balance acting in the national interest and holding ministers properly to account. Erring on the side of partisanship makes a political leader look cheap and opportunistic. Giving the government an easy ride is failing in the very national duty you’re supposed to be doing. It is a tricky act to get right.

Obviously the coronavirus emergency is unprecedented in modern times. The Spanish flu pandemic a century ago, the closest parallel to the current outbreak, predated the NHS and arrived long before medical science could do much about it. The political response a century ago was practically irrelevant, as it had been in every previous plague.