Labour’s confidence tricks

There is nothing new, nor necessarily fatal, about making a poor start in government. Margaret Thatcher had a torrid first couple of years in office, set back by galloping inflation and mass unemployment, before she found her direction. Those who assume that Keir Starmer is doomed to be a one-term prime minister thanks to his plunging popularity are speaking too soon. The resignation of Louise Haigh over a historic fraud conviction will swiftly pass. The mini-scandal of freebies accepted by government ministers, which kept Fleet Street occupied over the summer, has already been largely forgotten.

The acceleration of the news cycle has presented governments with endless opportunities for embarrassment, but also means that the bad news tends to blow over much more quickly. Ministers who resign are now often back in office within a year; it is a fair bet that Haigh will not be scrubbing the floors as a volunteer at Toynbee Hall, as John Profumo was still doing many years into his long rehabilitation.