The astonishing complacency of Starmer’s supporters

It’s happening again. Despite having lost four general elections in a row, supporters of the Labour party have already convinced themselves that Boris Johnson is doomed and they are on course for victory next time.

Their reasoning was expertly set out by Andrew Rawnsley, still the doyen of left-of-centre commentators, in his Observer column on Sunday: Jeremy Corbyn was a gift to the Tories, but now Labour has the much more ‘capable and substantial’ Keir Starmer at the helm and the government doesn’t know how to deal with him; Boris Johnson’s basic lack of competence has been shown up by coronavirus; people are warming to the technocratic Starmer and while he is fully in charge of his party ‘a growing number of Tory MPs’ believe they will need a different leader by the next election.

I recently had a similar argument relayed to me by a long-time Labour activist: ‘You won’t like this, but Boris has blown it.