Starmer's economic plan is more gamble than strategy

The "cost of living" is a policy you reach for when there is little else to say.

- JOHN RENTOUL

Ed Miliband, when he was leader of the opposition, even enjoyed some success with his plan to freeze gas and electricity bills, forcing George Osborne, the chancellor, to announce a £50 cut.

It is not just an opposition slogan. The first of Rishi Sunak’s five priorities for 2023, announced three years ago this month, was to halve inflation - “to ease the cost of living”. (Give yourself a prize if you can remember the other four: grow the economy, cut debt, cut NHS waiting lists and stop the boats.)

Inflation did indeed halve, but it did Sunak no good. Prices continued to rise - just more slowly.

The cost of living never truly went away as an issue, but now it is back with a vengeance. And with Keir Starmer’s habit of over-emphasising everything, it has become his government’s defining priority. He is “expected to tell No 10 staff” tomorrow, according to The Times: “The word I expect to define this year is relentlessness. Relentless focus on the cost of living. Relentless delivery of change people can feel. Relentless clarity on the story about how we are changing this country.”

After five missions and three priorities, Starmer’s communications team has distilled the message still further into a single aim: as he is “expected” to put it, “putting more money in people’s pockets”.