Another parliamentary season concludes in a tired and snappish mood, and you might think nothing’s changed. The boats legislation, culture-war signalling, rows over Labour timidity: as the wider country struggles, is Westminster just an endless circle of gurgling repetitive nonsense?
Just below the surface, there has been a deep shift. Despite Rishi Sunak’s ferocious determination, there’s a sense that a long Tory era is ending and we are into, probably, “Labour in power – the prologue”. Which means, for Keir Starmer and his team, the most dangerous months now lie ahead. There will be far more scrutiny, more scepticism, and, when they win power, a world of pain – and they haven’t so far got a jot of power.
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