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Oliver Eagleton: The Starmer Project (EBook, 2022, Verso Books) 4 stars

Hailed as a human-rights champion and political outsider, what sort of politician is Keir Starmer …

Worth reading, but wildly tendentious

4 stars

Worth reading for the first chapter alone, which plots Starmer's move from a remarkably left-wing lawyer (I had no idea he was involved in the McLibel case, for example) to a marked authoritarian, starting with his involvement in Northern Ireland and ramping up during his time as DPP. How you feel about the second chapter probably depends a lot on how you feel about Lexit, though arguably there are patterns emerging here that remain through the rest of Starmer's career. The remainder of the book covers the period of Starmer's rise to leader of the party, and really continues the theme of moving towards greater authoritarianism and watering down any left-wing policies. Eagleton is obviously not a fan, and that rather mars much of the book, but the first chapter is pretty breathtaking as a character study.