Cooper says Labour 'did not do government very well' under Starmer

Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has said Labour "did not do government very well" during Keir Starmer's time as Prime Minister.

The admission came in remarks reported across several outlets. The Independent says one of Starmer's most senior former ministers admitted his leadership style "doesn't work in politics". The Daily Mail describes Cooper's comments as a "vicious attack" on the former PM. The Guardian carries her central claim that Labour "did not do government very well" under Starmer's leadership.

Cooper served as Home Secretary under Starmer before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in late July. Her remarks are notable for their timing - delivered after Starmer left office, but while Labour remains in government. The comment is categorical: not that the party struggled in certain areas, but that it didn't do government well, full stop.

The words matter. "Did not do government very well" is the construction of someone still inside the tent. It concedes failure without naming a cause or a person responsible. It leaves open whether the problem was personnel, structure, or simply the gap between opposition and office. Every incoming administration discovers that gap; not all of them admit it this plainly, this soon.

What to watch: whether Cooper's assessment becomes the settled Labour view of the Starmer premiership, or whether others defend the record. The next test of Burnham's government - the Autumn Statement, the next electoral test - will show whether Labour believes it has learned the lesson Cooper is diagnosing.