The rot set in almost as soon as Labour came to power when she removed winter fuel payments

How did it come to this? The rot set in almost as soon as Labour came to power, when Ms Reeves announced she was removing winter fuel payments from more than nine million pensioners.

- 

It was one of the first big decisions of the new government, certainly the first anyone remembers with the exception perhaps of her simultaneous announcement of above-inflation pay rises for public sector workers, including 5.5% for NHS workers and teachers. The pay hikes cost £9.5billion.

Removing winter fuel payments saved just £1.3billion in the first year.

Eventually, after journalists submitted Freedom of Information requests and MPs demanded details, the Government admitted the decision would plunge 100,000 pensioners into poverty.

The problem wasn’t just that the policy was bad. It was also that the Government had little else to talk about.

There were no “quick wins” or measures that made the average voter better off (unless they were a teacher or nurse), Instead, the Government began paving the way for tax hikes in the Chancellor's first Budget, warning that she would need to plug a “black hole” in the public finances.

Former Labour leader Sir Tony Blair's theme song was Things Can Only Get Better while former Conservative leader David Cameron once declared: “Let sunshine win the day!” There was none of that optimism from Keir and Rachel. They told us things could only get worse.