After 14 years out of office, you might think that Labour had a better plan for what to do once they finally crossed the threshold of 10 Downing Street. But given the slew of rookie PR errors, squandering what public goodwill they had, it seems this is a lofty assumption. The government is adrift and the optics are a mess – so much so that local Labour party campaigners are reportedly reluctant to go out on the doors, anxious to talk to their electors face-to-face.
The narrative of a government in total-spiral is tempting, but is it fair? There were scandals in Tony Blair’s first 100 days: Formula 1; the Ecclestone Affair (only a rumour at the time but vindicated by the facts in 2008). There was a similarly controversial vote on cuts to welfare payments that his party forced through, desperate to shake off the reputation as big spenders. New Labour weathered all of this, and survived in office for over a decade.
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