Keir Starmer’s first job as Labour leader is to hold the government to account on coronavirus

Among all the things that have changed since coronavirus hit, one that did not was the pace of the Labour leadership contest. Even in the world before Covid-19, the party knew this protracted process would leave it with a lame-duck leader for four months, a period which would include Boris Johnson’s first Budget and allow the prime minster to set out his agenda. That has now been eclipsed by the national emergency of combatting the threat to public health.

With the contest finally over, Keir Starmer is the new leader of the Labour Party, but his celebrations will be short-lived. The prime minister enjoys rising approval ratings while the  shut-down of Parliament deprives Starmer of the usual chances to make big speeches, challenge the government  and set out his stall.

Starmer’s shadow cabinet choices could outstrip the government in experience

His first priority is to pick the shadow cabinet. There is a case for keeping Jon Ashworth in place as shadow health secretary, given his expertise and the visibility he has secured. But the key decisions for the new leader will be about how to stamp his authority over the party and whether to remove (or try to do so) those most closely associated with Jeremy Corbyn. This is a party divided between those who think it won the argument but lost the election, and those that think it lost both. That is not a recipe for running an effective opposition. He will find on the backbenches, and chairing select committees, established parliamentarians and former secretaries of state – and has the chance to assemble a team which would surpass Boris Johnson’s cabinet in terms of experience, albeit not recent, of government.

The second is to get the tone right, striking the right balance between support and challenge. For all the claim by Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell that the torrent of spending on coronavirus vindicates their economic arguments, Starmer has the advantage of not being ideological about the economy. The circumstances are clearly extraordinary. And while it is likely that a much bigger state will emerge from the crisis, that will have to be underpinned by public support for higher taxes - an argument yet to be tested - if it is to be sustained.

The new Labour leader must find the balance between challenge and cooperation

Starmer will want to cooperate with government to an extent. Shadow ministers acknowledge that the government has been talking behind the scenes with opposition parties about coronavirus for weeks. The government, with a big majority and opinion polls rising in its favour, will not have the interest in the kind of national unity government that some Labour supporters have wishfully been advocating.Starmer must find the balance between criticising and supporting a government that – even after a rocky week over testing and NHS protective equipment – still enjoys high public approval.

At the same time, the Opposition will want to challenge the government on the competence of its response to the emergency and its plans – as it develops them – for an exit back towards normality. It managed to create some noise around the initial lack of provision for the self-employed (not its favourite constituency), and is on easier ground with the partial provision of personal protective equipment for NHS workers. But it may find it harder to find a popular stance as the government gets into the difficult decisions about getting the country out of lockdown.

There is no political mileage at the moment for challenging the government on the emergency powers, which appeared to have considerable support from a public clamouring for the government to act. Labour MPs recognised that, and voted for the Coronavirus Bill. Their next chance to review it is in six months, and they have only a straight yes-or-no vote, not a chance to amend the legislation. But the government will find that securing people’s enduring consent for intrusive and constraining measures is hard.  Labour has a clear role in challenging the government not to use or retain powers beyond those it strictly needs.

Coronavirus is changing the country – and Starmer must present a vision of that change

This is an extraordinary time at which to become leader of any big political party. The nature of government is changing, as are its relations with the people, businesses and institutions of this country. The biggest decisions draw on technical competence but are also political in the purest sense of the word, expressing what the government thinks people most want. This degree of change presents any political leader with an enormous opportunity to set out a plan for the country and try to persuade people that it is plan they should endorse.

Labour would have been better served in these febrile months by a much shorter leadership contest. However, Keir Starmer starts with the advantage that politicians and their views are at the heart of national attention.