2024 brought with it a plethora of unexpected upheavals, many of which were political. While many were unpleasant (looking at you, America), a new British government ended fourteen long years of Tory rule. While many are happy with this turn of events, it is almost universally accepted that our present Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has a bit of a likability issue.
Agree or disagree with his politics, he hasn’t been greeted as a charismatic figurehead in the style of Tony Blair. This got me thinking about the heyday of likability in British politics. Although it was before I was born, the mid to late 90s Cool Britannia revolution surely was related to the popularity of contemporary Labour governments? I don’t think it was a coincidence that British pop culture’s zenith, with bands like the Spice Girls, Oasis, and Blur, dominating global zeitgeist, that our leaders were also thought of as relatively affable, if not cool.
Credit: Instagram/@charli_xcx.
Who is the British cultural phenom of the 2020s that can revolutionise not only our global image, but our collective relationship with our government? Who was the British pop icon who became a worldwide icon this summer? Charli XCX, of course!
Now, before you consider my take entirely misguided, it’s important to consider the tenets of Cool Britannia. The revitalisation of a modern, somewhat grungy youth-culture Britain was epitomised with Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) 1997’s BRIT performance bedecked in a Union Jack dress. During Charli’s performance of Guess at the 2025 Grammy’s, one of her backup dancers can clearly be seen wearing a Union Jack skirt.
The aesthetic remodelling of a pillar of British identity into a fashion statement sums up what Cool Britannia is all about: a pride in national identity that is self-deprecating to the extent that it can be humorous, but not so much so that it contradicts the initial feeling of cultural delight. I think this is exactly what Starmer needs to get the public back on side: Charli’s tongue-in-cheek celebration of British culture.
Charli (or Ms. XCX?) has also demonstrated an in-depth understanding of issues which weigh heavily on the British population. Though her hyperpop album was a club hit, it was ultimately about the life in the 21st century. In particular, the album focused on the experience of womanhood and all the complexities that come with it. Her nuanced analysis displays in-depth powers of empathy, which undoubtedly politics could use more of.
Credit: Instagram/@charli_xcx.
Further, she emphasised her ability at forging relationships across historic barriers on her “Girl, so confusing” track, which delves into the complex friendship-cum-rivalry that women find themselves in bizarrely often.
Starmer has long expressed interest in warmer relations with the EU, with recent polling suggesting that more and more Brits want to rejoin the Union. Name a cultural contemporary who could write a disstrack about someone and then have the subject of that disstrack feature on the remix… only one person springs to mind.
Ergo, Charli XCX has the capacity not only to coach Starmer on his stage presence, but also to shift her expertise in conflict resolution towards reuniting two great political institutions.
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