Keir Starmer’s premiership offers an important leadership lesson: the right leader for one moment is not always the right leader for the next.

That is not a personal criticism. In many ways, Starmer was exactly the leader the Labour Party needed after 2019.

He brought discipline after chaos. He rebuilt credibility. He made Labour electable again. He reassured voters in the UK who had stopped listening. And he led the party to a remarkable general election victory. But the skills required to win power are not always the skills required to use it well.

Opposition rewards message discipline, control, caution and critique. Government demands something different: imagination, trust-building, institutional empathy, prioritisation and the ability to lead through uncertainty when resources are limited and choices are painful.

That, I think, is where Starmer struggled.

The first 100 days of any leadership matter enormously. It sets the tone. It sends a message as to what kind of leader has arrived. People’s mindset gets fixed very early and it is very difficult to change it afterwards.

For Starmer, the early message was heavily focused on delivery. The Civil Service needed to deliver. Government had to move fast. The UK needed results particularly as they dealt with the consequences of Brexit and inherited a financial mess.

But perhaps the more important first task was not to tell the system to deliver. It was to build a relationship with the people through whom delivery would have to happen.

Civil servants were not campaign opponents. They were now the people on whom success depended. After years of political turbulence, they needed clarity, but also trust, respect, direction and a sense that they were part of a shared national project. I was disappointed the way Stamer addressed those people, like a teacher to poor students, he tried to look strong and tough but he looked weak and lacking a human touch.

There is another lesson here too. When leaders have to make unpopular decisions, they cannot simply ask people to endure pain. They have to show people where the pain is leading.

A roadmap to a better tomorrow is not a communications luxury. It is a leadership necessity.

Without it, people can become trapped in the struggle of today. The hardship feels endless. The sacrifices feel disconnected. The future becomes abstract, while the present feels very real. People who expected Labour to be on their side suddenly felt ignored or worse felt the brunt of tough decisions.

That is especially true when resources are limited. Scarcity narrows choices, but it also increases the need for hope, honesty and direction. People are more willing to accept difficult decisions when they understand the destination, the milestones and the reason the journey matters.

That is a lesson for all leaders.

When you move from campaigning to governing, from opposition to responsibility, from outsider to insider, you have to change gear.

The people you once challenged may become the people you must now rely on. The slogans that helped you win may not help you lead. The discipline that made you credible may become rigidity if it is not matched by imagination. As they say you campaign in poetry but govern in prose.

There are several lessons from Starmer’s six years at the head of Labour.

First, leadership is contextual. No one is the right leader for every occasion.

Second, rebuilding trust is not the same as creating momentum.

Third, delivery is not commanded into existence. It is built through relationships, systems and shared purpose.

Fourth, when resources are scarce, narrative matters even more. People will accept difficult choices only if they understand the larger story.

Fifth, when making unpopular decisions, leaders must offer a credible roadmap to a better tomorrow. Otherwise people get lost in the struggle of today.

Sixth, the first 100 days are not a ceremonial milestone. They are the moment when a leader teaches people how to interpret everything that follows.

Starmer’s achievement should not be dismissed. He took a damaged party and made it fit for government. That was no small thing. He also stood up to Donald Trump and ignored his insults.

But his premiership reminds us that winning is not the end of leadership. It is the beginning of a different kind of test.

And sometimes the leader who is perfect for the campaign is not the leader best suited to the uncertainty that follows.

Honestly I feel sorry for Keir Starmer. I think his heart is in the right place. Unfortunately, people had enough and our desperate for someone to make them feel better and deliver a plan to a better tomorrow.

Andy Burnham may become Prime Minister but many of his votes were more to get rid of Stamer than to signal a belief that Labour are the answer. Now the tough test us to create a credible narrative that people buy and make decisions that are consistent with the brand.

Europe needs a strong UK hopefully the future is bright.