This 10-point plan would allow Keir Starmer to get a grip on his government. He should read it and fast | John McTernan

. UK edition

Keir Starmer at a community centre in Hertfordshire, 10 February 2026.
Keir Starmer at a community centre in Hertfordshire, 10 February 2026. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Things are terrible right now, but he has a radical manifesto to draw on, a landslide majority and breathing space. He must seize the day, says former Labour party adviser John McTernan

After his worst week ever, could Keir Starmer be about to have a season of renewal? Quite possibly, if he learns from his near-death experience.

When most leaders stumble, they don’t get a second chance: they are too exposed and their rivals pounce. As the saying goes, in politics your enemies are all on your own side – the opposition are merely opponents. But this isn’t a late third-term government running out of road with a slim majority and no new ideas. It’s only about a year and half in, with a radical manifesto and a landslide majority. As prime minister, Starmer not only has breathing space but also the most untrammelled power of any democratic leader in the global north. Even Donald Trump has individual states to contend with – the UK is a unitary system. So here are 10 steps Starmer can take to stay in office.

1. Bring the current crisis to a close by publishing every single one of the emails and messages from Peter Mandelson to cabinet ministers, junior ministers and advisers. Look carefully for any attempts to influence government contracts. Take charge personally – this has to happen as soon as possible. And you need to decide quickly who will have to resign.

2. Closing this issue frees you to pursue one of the agendas you are most personally committed to: restoring trust in politics. That needs to extend well beyond the initial steps suggested by your chief secretary, Darren Jones. Again, own this. You have a second act, make it count. Implement all of Gordon Brown’s reforms.

3. The resignations you will have to request will give you a range of vacancies. Use them wisely. Bring a visible end to factionalism. Reward talent, particularly in ideas and persuasion. You don’t need a government of all the talents – you need a government of all the storytellers.

4. Refound the government on the politics that have always been yours – the politics of the soft left. It’s where the country is. Why did Nigel Farage cosplay social democracy last year when he posed as the workers’ friend and suggested nationalising British Steel? Voters want to see an active government – and you believe in intervention. If the owners of Thames Water say they cannot abide by existing regulations and trade profitably, then take the company from them at the low value they claim it has.

5. Meet the voters where they are and answer their deepest needs. Although nationalisation was the right move, the biggest driver of the cost of living isn’t train fares; in 2024, a YouGov survey found that 21% of British adults never used trains. It’s housing. Rents are ridiculous, as are house prices. But building numbers will never shift unless the government starts building again like it did in the 1970s, when councils such as Southwark in London built thousands of homes. Government land is there to build 500,000 homes over the rest of the parliament. Use development corporations and speed up the process, like Michael Heseltine did.

6. Reindustrialise the country. Construction is one leg of the stool. Defence is another – procurement here is central to industrial strategy. Does that mean planning? Yes, it does. Once again, the man and woman in Whitehall know best in terms of the threats to our security and the deployment of resources to key localities. Pride in place can be a new arms factory.

7. You need an emblem for your commitment to infrastructure. The first new reservoirs for decades are nice – and necessary – but not a statement of intent or a symbol of national renewal. So, reinstate HS2 to take growth to the north and give a victory to Manchester and Leeds. It was a failure of belief in Britain for the Tories to cancel it.

8. Do the little things that matter. Look at how Zohran Mamdani has used Lina Khan to look at the costs that annoy New Yorkers. She found a law that can cap the overpricing of beer in sports stadiums. Get the Competition and Markets Authority to do a similar project for you. Quality of life isn’t just costs, it’s also niggles such as getting out of online subscriptions or changing mobile phone contracts. Let pharmacists provide more care. Make Britain Easier Again.

9. You know more than anyone that Brexit is the source of almost all that is wrong in the UK. Outside the EU, it is harder to have real management of irregular migration. Rejoining the single market is one of the few magic bullets for growth, productivity and prosperity. Given the centrality of the UK to the defence of Ukraine and the rebuilding of European defence and security, this is an ideal moment for you to get the right terms for the country. You have to own a positive pivot as well as sorting the problems that caused the current crisis.

10. Above all else, burn up the road. Let this moment set you free. Return to the safety of the manifesto – it was radical and got a massive mandate in your landslide majority. Remember, none of the errors that have cut Labour’s support were in the manifesto. Get out ahead and stay ahead.