Well, what a night. 

Four and a half years on from Boris Johnson’s landslide election, when political pundits expected another 10 years of Conservative leadership, the Labour Party has secured a resounding majority of 170 in the General Election.

Whilst there is much chatter about the lack of enthusiasm for Starmer and the proportion of the vote for Labour, I would pose two questions: Does it matter? And do people care? I know it is cynical but hear me out.

Starmer has a significant majority, large enough that he can and should enact far-reaching reforms during his honeymoon period to create the growth and radical change required, especially in areas such as planning and his plans for mission-driven government. Starmer is the type of person who will under-promise and over-deliver. Therefore, whilst we might not have learned much during the campaign, we should perhaps raise our expectations. With the King’s Speech less than two weeks away, we might not have too much longer to wait until we learn more about Starmerism.

But again, do people care?

The electorate has voted for change and now wants Starmer to get on and deliver. They are keen to get back to their lives and leave the drama and bluster of the past few years behind them. This plays nicely for Starmer who will also want to hit the ground running, especially as he heads off to Washington early next week for the NATO Summit.

It is therefore time for the government to crack on and allow people to get on with their lives, with a few more pounds in their pockets, able to get a doctor’s appointment or catch a working train. It is now time for policy and legislation rule, rather than party politics. Conveniently, this chimes with Starmer’s mantra of “country first, party second,” an approach that will be music to the ears of a country fed up with political infighting, jostling and scandal.

Therefore, with the lowest turnout at a General Election for 20 years and the Labour share of the total vote poor compared to its proportion of seats, the main takeaway I learn from the electorate today is “crack on and leave us alone”.

The election is finished, the chaos is over. Now Starmer needs get on with the job at hand and focus on policy and growth. Bring back boring politics (if only for a while).

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