Labour’s ‘Ming Vase Strategy’: the operational code of the Starmer leadership

Abstract The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the Labour Party’s programmatic trajectory under Keir Starmer, a trajectory which helped set the parameters for the often-contentious policy choices in government. Though Starmer had fought the election to succeed Corbyn on a left-wing platform, this was soon abandoned. Policy evolution was mainly driven by strategic considerations, more specifically, by what came to be called ‘the Ming vase strategy’, defined in this article by two principles, opinion alignment and power accommodation. Together, these principles are conceptualised in the article as amounting to an ‘operating code’ which is then used to analyse and critically evaluate Starmer’s strategic choices in opposition and government. The application of this ‘operating code’ is seen as a major cause of the serious problems the new government experienced in its first year in office.