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The British State Hates its Own People - Dr David Starkey

June 20, 2026 • 1h 34m

Summary

⏱️ 10 min read

Overview

Dr. David Starkey returns to Trigonometry to discuss the current crisis in British politics and the fragmented state of the right. He argues that Britain faces a structural crisis comparable to the World Wars, caused by Blair-era constitutional reforms that replaced political governance with judicial and expert control. While the right is converging on policy around repealing these reforms, personal divisions between Conservative, Reform, and Restore parties threaten to hand victory to Labour. Starkey warns that without unity and clear articulation of what went wrong, Britain may not survive as a functioning state.

The Structural Crisis Facing Britain

Starkey opens by diagnosing Britain's fundamental problem: the British state has stopped working due to autoimmune disease, where its machinery is consuming itself. He argues all three parties on the right are recognizing they're not dealing with separate problems but a single central issue - the state has turned against its people. This represents a national crisis comparable only to the World Wars, and Starkey suggests reunion of the right based on policy is essential, though personal hostilities remain profound.

  • Something has gone structurally wrong with Britain - the state has turned against its people
  • All three right-wing parties are realizing they face a single central issue: the British state has stopped working
  • Britain faces a national crisis comparable only to WWI and WWII
  • There must be a reunion of the right, and the only basis for that reunion is policy
" We are genuinely, I think, at a moment, I would argue, of a national crisis which is comparable only to the First and Second World Wars. "
" The British state has stopped working. "

The Paradox of Unity: Policy Convergence vs. Personal Division

Starkey identifies a striking paradox on the right: while personalities are at war with each other in an increasingly vicious manner, policy positions are actually converging. He describes the profound personal hurt and bad blood between figures like Robert Jenrick, Suella Braverman, and those remaining in the Conservative Party, yet notes they're all moving toward similar conclusions about repealing Blair-era legislation. This convergence around the need for fundamental constitutional reform represents hope, even as personal hostilities threaten to destroy any possibility of cooperation.

  • At personality level there's radical division - a Hobbesian war of all against all between Conservative, Reform, and Restore
  • Profound personal hurt was done by the timing of Robert Jenrick's defection from Conservatives to Reform
  • Despite personal hostilities, all three parties are moving closer together on policy
  • Harrison Pitt's paper for Restore adopts Starkey's idea of the 'great repeal' of Blairite legislation
" There has to be a reunion of the right, and that the only basis for that reunion is policy. "

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