Labour had no plan – and it is showing

Sue Gray's high salary is defended by Labour
Sue Gray’s high salary is defended by Labour - Stefan Rousseau/PA

When Labour last came to power after a lengthy period in opposition in 1997 there was a sense of purpose to the new government, underpinned by a clear plan that had been years in preparation.

Some of it was never implemented, such as early promises of reform to welfare and the NHS, while other measures were kept secret until after the election, like independence for the Bank of England. Tony Blair ran into controversy early on over a donation of £1 million from the Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in exchange for a deal over tobacco advertising.

But, for good or ill, it was a government with a strategy and a set of policies that its 170-plus Commons majority could easily impose.

Even though some veteran New Labour hands, like Sir Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson, are said to have been advising Sir Keir Starmer and his team on the transition to power, the new government could hardly have made a less sure-footed start than that we have witnessed since July 5.

To be embroiled in a row over the salaries for special advisers and an unedifying “who sits where in No 10” spat among officials speaks volumes about Labour’s priorities.

At the centre of the web sits Sue Gray, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, who apparently insisted upon being paid more than her boss or she would have declined the job. Anyone with a modicum of political nous must have recognised how badly that would play in the country were it ever to be made public – as inevitably it duly was.

This, then, is the party that lectured the Tories about factionalism, now riven by personal grievances and unable to articulate a sense of direction. Sir Keir says the country voted for change, but since he won with just 34 per cent of the vote that is a very questionable assertion.

But even if it did, change is not what we are seeing. We have a government driven by process and run by Left-wing technocrats, prey to any public sector union demanding a better deal.

There is no vision and no obvious motivation beyond a desire to be in office. The Tories were heading for inevitable defeat this year, but Rishi Sunak was right when he said that Labour had no plan. Allowing his government to descend into a squabble over the salary and influence of an adviser suggests Sir Keir has no idea how to run his own office, let alone the country.