Nearly 20 years ago, Keir Starmer, a sarcastic young human rights lawyer, told a documentary filmmaker that being given the title of Queen’s Counsel felt “weird” to him “because I often proposed the abolition of the monarch.” system”.
Mr Starmer, the current leader of the UK Labor Party, has long denied that his anti-monarchy comments were the result of youthful indiscretions. In 2014, he knelt before Charles, the then Prince of Wales, who tapped him on the shoulder with his sword and knighted him.
If Sir Keir Starmer is swept out of 10 Downing Street in next week’s general election, as polls suggest, he could end up more politically aligned with Charles than the last two Tory prime ministers, Richie Sunak and Liz Truss, whose term overlapped with the King’s reign.
Experts say that on issues such as climate change, housing, immigration and Britain’s relationship with the European Union, Starmer may find common ground with a king who has long-standing and often fierce views on these issues but The constitution prohibits him from taking any action.
Ed Owens, a historian who studies the royal family, said: “A Labor government under Keir Starmer will pay more attention to people’s plight and treat it as a social problem.” “Such issues have long been a concern for the king. attention. Reached consensus on important social issues.
If elected prime minister, Mr Starmer would hold weekly meetings with Charles that would be strictly between the two of them. But people close to Buckingham Palace and Downing Street say they can foresee a productive relationship between the 75-year-old monarch and the 61-year-old lawyer. Knighted.
As well as Mr Starmer’s progressive politics, academics say Charles would appreciate the stability a Labor government could restore after Brexit’s divisions, political turmoil and revolving door of leaders. After all, with less than two years on the throne, Charles could soon become his third prime minister.
“The monarchy seeks to be a unifying force, to bring the country together, so it tends to build consensus rather than divide,” said Vernon Bogdana, a professor at King’s College London and an authority on constitutional monarchy. “That’s how kings are. look at his role.”
But Professor Bogdanno added, “While his mother represents the wartime generation, the king is more representative of the 1960s generation.”
As monarch, Charles does not vote. But during his decades as heir apparent, he became outspoken about issues he cared about, such as organic farming and construction. At times, his views on more politically charged issues leaked out.
In 2022, Charles reportedly criticized the Conservative government’s plan to put some asylum seekers on one-way flights to Rwanda as “appalling”. His remarks at the private meeting appeared in the Times of London and the Daily Mail just weeks before he represented Queen Elizabeth II at a meeting of Commonwealth countries in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
Clarence House, where Charles had his office at the time, declined to comment on the reports but did not deny them.
This prompted Boris Johnson, then prime minister and the man behind the Rwanda plan, to complain to Charles, according to Guto Harri, Johnson’s communications director at the time. Writing in the Daily Mail, he described Johnson as “confronting the prince and questioning his views – as an unelected member of the royal family – on the conduct of the elected government.”
Charles never mentioned Rwanda again. In April this year, after Parliament passed a revised version of the legislation under Mr Sunak, the King, in line with his duties, gave the royal assent to become law. But Mr Starmer has vowed that a Labor government will scrap the scheme, calling it costly and unviable.
Climate policy is another area where the King may find a Labor government more consistent with his views. Ms Truss asked Charles not to attend the 2022 UN climate change conference in Egypt, depriving him of a platform to speak out on the issues he holds most dear. Sunak later walked back some of the UK’s emissions reduction targets, citing their high cost during a cost-of-living crisis.
In contrast, Labor announced a green investment plan worth 28 billion pounds (about 35 billion U.S. dollars) per year, but has since suspended spending targets until Britain’s public finances improve.
“It does sound like a new Labor government and that Charles will be in lockstep on these issues,” historian Mr Owens said. “But Labor has a lot of good things to say about the importance of the green agenda. Can they put these good words into action?
Mr Starmer’s loyalty to the law may also enable the king to avoid the kind of dilemma his mother faced in 2019. plan.
The Queen agreed, but the UK Supreme Court later ruled that the decision was illegal. Critics criticized Johnson for putting Elizabeth in an untenable position because she was unable to defy an elected government. Ms Truss raised similar governance concerns when she proposed unfunded across-the-board tax cuts in 2022, a move that sparked a backlash from financial markets and led to the downfall of her premiership.
“These prime ministers are able to flout the rules,” Mr Owens said. “Generally speaking, the monarchy doesn’t like too much attention focused on the constitution.”
Although it may seem counterintuitive, historians say Elizabeth had a more harmonious relationship with the Labor prime minister than the Conservative prime minister. She was seen as having a particularly good rapport with down-to-earth Yorkshireman Harold Wilson, while her interactions with Conservative icon Margaret Thatcher were said to be occasionally stinging.
To be sure, early Labor had an anti-monarchist streak. Its first parliamentary leader Keir Hardie – who shares Mr Starmer’s first name – once wrote: “Absolutism and monarchy are compatible; democracy and monarchy are inconceivable contact.
Conservative politicians have repurposed footage of Starmer as a young man and put it into adverts suggesting Labor hates the monarchy. But even before Mr Starmer took over, Labor had developed into a credible constitutional party. Analysts say residual anti-monarchist sentiment is likely to be swept away in his purge of the party’s far left after becoming leader in 2020.
At the 2022 Labor Party conference, the national anthem will be played for the first time since the Queen’s death. Mr Starmer, who has spoken of abolishing the monarchy, raised his voice and sang: “God save the king.”
