Why besieged Sir Keir Starmer may come to regret Labour relaunch

But, despite winning 63 per cent of the seats, Labour only managed to secure 34 per cent of the vote on July 4. No wonder, perhaps, that Sir Keir Starmer’s party enjoyed no discernible honeymoon period and is now struggling in the polls.

Sir Keir and his Cabinet protest with some justification that they have had to make difficult and unpopular decisions because of the parlous state of the nation’s finances bequeathed to them by the previous Conservative administration. Yet it is highly questionable whether some of these decisions need have been quite so difficult or quite so unpopular.

Perhaps most obviously open to question was the decision – taken almost as soon as Sir Keir had crossed the threshold of 10 Downing Street – to axe winter fuel payments for the vast majority of pensioners.

Then there was the first Labour Budget for 14 years, in which Chancellor Rachel Reeves ramped both taxes and borrowing to historic highs.

Ms Reeves targeted businesses by seeking to raise £25 billion through a sharp increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions – essentially a tax on employment.

And farmers from across the UK have taken to the streets in protest against changes to inheritance tax they say will lead to thousands of farms that have been passed down through generations being driven out of business.

These are only a few of the reasons why Labour may be feeling the need to turn over a new leaf and start afresh.

Sir Keir will this week set out “measurable milestones” for the next phase of his government, highlighting which areas will be prioritised both politically and financially.

In doing so, however, he is taking a big political risk. Making promises is all very well unless those promises are broken – in which case Sir Keir’s speech will only serve as ammunition for his opponents.