Starmer’s essay is gold dust for Boris

Keir Starmer’s incredible shrinking pamphlet was initially said to run to 14,000 words, then 13,000, then 12,500 and now 11,000 is even being mentioned.

As someone who has read it from start to finish, let me assure you that whichever of those word counts is accurate, it’s still much too long. But those who are disparaging the document as useless are nevertheless barking up the wrong tree. In fact, it is a tremendously useful document – but useful to the Conservatives rather than Labour.

Because while earnest Sir Keir has failed to come up with anything that will produce the kind of visceral connection with the electorate that could presage political momentum, he has nonetheless telegraphed to the Tories his basic plan of attack. In doing so, he has highlighted his own areas of greatest weakness.

Starmer is far too pedestrian a character for this to be a feint. Were he a D-Day commander he would find himself in the position of just having told the enemy all about his actual plodding and easily beatable strategy for taking them on rather than having convinced them he intended to land on one set of beaches while secretly lining-up another.