Throughout the General Election, Labour promised a lot without actually promising very much and I must admit, the prospect of a Labour government excited me.

Not because of some deep ideological connection but because after years of Conservative controversy where culture wars and three-word slogans seemed to be all the government could muster, it seemed to me that although Sir Keir Starmer might not be the best leader to ever grace Parliament, he was at least the best of the rest.

I am a classic swing voter. I sit firmly in the centre of the political spectrum and in the absence of party allegiance, I am politically flexible as to who gets my vote.

In 2017 and 2019, I was so terrified of the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn, that I voted Conservative, in 2015, I voted Labour and in 2010, as an idealistic 18-year- old, I embarrassingly spoilt my ballot in some sort of electoral reform protest… Cringe.

Going into this election there was little doubt in my mind as to who I wanted to be the next PM. I couldn’t have been more confident that Labour offered the best path forward.

Sir Keir Starmer didn’t particularly inspire me but I was confident that he was at least serious and sensible, something lacking in some of his predecessors.

Despite being concerned at the lack of communication on what a Starmer government would bring, I reassured myself that the ‘Ming vase’ strategy was understandable given the huge lead in the polls and that whatever was to come could not be worse than what came before.

Three months in, I am beginning to wonder whether I got it all wrong…

Lack of vision

2024 could perhaps go down as one of the strangest general elections of all time.

The Conservatives were a party trying (often failing) to control a bin fire, focusing more on House of Commons preservation rather than attempting to convey their vision for the future.

Similarly, Labour showed little vision other than “we won’t be the Tories” but as alluded to earlier, many people assured themselves that they were playing a cautious game, with their big vision set to come once they picked up the keys to number 10.

That is of course what happened, but not in the way I expected. Instead of positivity it was tales of degeneration, destitution and despair, a long list of everything that’s broken without a roadmap for how it would be fixed.

Even George Osborne at the height of austerity at least managed that. No wonder Labour kept it under their hat.

Gifts

The gifts row is in some ways the thing that has angered me the most, but not in the way you might expect.

Donations to politicians are common which is why there is a process for declaring them. I find it difficult to be upset about the leader of the nation having a security presence at the football that normal people do not, I won’t lose sleep over his son using his friends house to revise and I have no issue with the PM being at a high-profile UK entertainment event such as a Taylor Swift concert.

There is an argument to be made that it was in fact important for the leader of our nation to be there as it was for Prince William to be. I imagine the future King didn’t pay for his ticket either…

But I despair for two reasons. Firstly, the political naivety is staggering. It was clear to anybody with half an ounce of political sense how gifts of clothes and glasses would be portrayed when the party has spent its time in opposition positioning itself as the party of integrity.

Secondly and perhaps most importantly is the hypocrisy. Whilst some gifts that have made the news are valid and understandable, there are others where serious questions should be asked.

Revelations that MPs were taking gifts that at best call into question fears of a conflict of interest was Labour’s opportunity to restore trust, clamp down and amend the rules which are not fit for purpose. Instead, they doubled down with claims of “it was a work event”. We have heard that one before…

Winter fuel

Nobody voted for Labour in the knowledge that pensioners would go cold this winter.

The policy is a disgrace in its callousness and haste with which it was drawn up. A one size fits all threshold gives no consideration to the medical needs of the elderly, the personal circumstances of millions or any allowance for those over by a couple of pounds.

The feeling that the PM is using this policy as a way of stamping his authority is pathetic and leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those who backed him.