ENTER PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER 

The UK elections hold lessons for Nigeria

Following a landslide victory by the Labour Party over the Conservative Party at the general election held last week, Sir Keir Starmer has become the 58th British Prime Minister. “If I asked you now whether you believed that Britain will be better for your children, I know too many of you will say no – and so my government will fight until you believe again,” Starmer pledged in his first address to his country which was followed quickly by the announcement of his cabinet. “This wound – this lack of trust – can only be healed by actions, not words. I know that. But we can make a start today… public service is a privilege.”

It is remarkable that the Labour Party has taken 412 seats in parliament with a majority of 174, while the defeated Conservative Party, in power for 14 years, won 121 seats, its worst result in history.  The Liberal Democrats came third with 71 seats. Several other small parties also won different numbers of seats while a 22-year-old became the youngest in history to be elected to parliament. But now that the elections are over, the business of government has started. By far, the more consequential issues that will define Starmer’s tenure are ultimately economic and political in the immediate domestic environment. 

On the economic front, the crisis of galloping inflation and crushing cost of living requires an urgent solution from the new Prime Minister. Similarly, a more sensible budget and tax policy to inspire growth is a matter of grave urgency. He will need to quickly put in place a workable economic policy framework that can inspire confidence. Above all, Starmer needs to give hope of imminent relief to the British general populace. More immediately, relief on energy costs and the long-standing crisis in the National Health Service (NHS) are crying for immediate attention.

On the political arena, Starmer comes to office in the context of a clear decline in British political culture. While he may have rebuilt the Labour Party to win this general election, the Conservative Party now needs a new leadership after the resignation of Rishi Sunak. It is no tribute to the oldest party in the world that it produced five Prime Ministers in 14 years. The divisions within its ranks can no longer be glossed over. 

Internationally, Starmer inherits Britain’s leadership role in NATO’s engagement on the Ukrainian war which has become quite tricky considering the enormity of resources being committed to its prosecution at a time of dire domestic challenges.  Historic ties between Nigeria and the UK remain strong at the level of human capital as Nigerian doctors and nurses are still trooping there to help their healthcare system, despite the crisis of our own health system.

To the British and other mature and decent democracies, the outcome of the exercise may not be so remarkable. But for us in Nigeria, we must learn the lesson in basic democratic good manners. From the moment the defeated Sunak dramatically called for a snap election, there were debates to test the character and temperament of those who sought to succeed him. That’s perhaps because under the British parliamentary system, the Prime Minister is only first among equals. The presidential system which we practice in Nigeria is different. Beyond the latitude granted by the constitution, the Nigerian presidency also occupies a peculiar cultural space in which the person, in the eye of a largely illiterate populace, is regarded as a combination of king and chief executive.

While we wish Prime Minister Starmer well in his assignment, we hope Nigerian politicians can take lessons from the election.