The sad reality is that the dominant culture in this country is small 'c' conservative, and Starmer has to allow for that.
A lot of people are scared to fuck of anything that smacks of radical change, and the media makes the most of those fears. Objective fact has nothing to do with it. If people feel threatened, no matter how irrationally, it tends to push them to the right.
The dangerous far-right loony cult that has wholly disproportionate power in the Tory Party - let alone the country - knows this, and uses the internet to stoke these fears. Thus the endless conspiracy theories around the WEF, digital currency, people in dinghies, 15-minute cities, and so on and so forth. The more scared you are, the better they like it. The very last thing they want is for you to feel secure and safe.
I wish this country was different, I really do. I also wish people would grow out of flag-shagging and worshipping the so-called royals and the Tory establishment. However, wishing doesn't make it so.