Labour’s Economic Record Is Poised for a Post-Election Test

A true leader should ensure his reputation is greater than his strength, to paraphrase the 16th century strategy-wrangler Niccolo Machiavelli. By sacking all those who failed to stop him making his disastrous appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador, Keir Starmer has squandered that asset. His credentials as a straight-dealing technocrat were his A-game. Having sacrificed that, the prime minister has little to commend him to his Labour MPs — or the rest of us.

What’s left in the locker is a less-than-convincing reputation for economic stability. The fiscal framework adhered to by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is now all that stands between the nation and a bond market revolt, Downing Street reminds us whenever a candidate to the left of Starmer looks set to mount a leadership challenge. But arguing about what markets might or might not do is hardly a motivation to keep faith with an administration in and of itself. It’s a scare tactic rather thana message of what the government is doing to restore economic health.