Cheer up, Sir Keir! It might never happen

Usually, politicians try to offer optimism. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party specialises in despair. “This is worse than the 1970s,” said Sir Keir in one speech. “We are in a hole.” Every Labour figure emits the same dirge about Britain’s high debt, low growth and exhausted public services. Even moments of hope are tempered with warnings of misery. In a rare bout of cheer, Sir Keir promised: “A realistic hope, a frank hope, a hope that levels with you about the hard road ahead.” Hooray!If Labour wins the next election, as is highly likely, the consensus is that it would inherit a total mess. In 1997 New Labour were handed a booming economy and low debt. In 2010 the Conservatives took over thriving public services. In 2024 Labour will receive neither. But the party harbours a dirty secret. Some problems will fix themselves; some things are better than they look; and a few conundrums can be solved with only a little effort. Pessimism is judicious. Sir Keir would enter office with the lowest expectations of any prime minister since the 1970s. The good thing about low expectations? They are easily met.