Keir Starmer Has Lost His Ruthless Spirit Guides

The late Robert Redford’s portrayal of a superficially attractive politician adrift without principles, in his 1972 film The Candidate, has proved prophetic on both sides of the Atlantic. Having traded in his radical ideals for vacuous soundbites, newly elected Californian Senator Bill McKay, played by Redford, leaves his celebration party to consult the Mephistophelian campaign manager responsible for his surprise success. “What do we do now?” the clueless victor begs.

Twenty years later President George H W Bush’s second-in-command Dan Quayle said he had modeled himself on McKay, missing the film’s satirical intent. The movie’s writer sent a letter to Quayle saying it was “not a how-to picture, it’s a watch-out picture. And you’re what we’ve got to watch out for.”