Labour's criticisms on cuts and sleaze back to haunt PM

‘Starmer failed to see he'd be judged by the same standards’

- Ross Clark

IT usually takes prime ministers a few years to lose their political antennae. In Keir Starmer's case, it took only days. Removing the winter fuel payment from all but the poorest pensioners turned out to be a spectacular own goal, which has already led many people wonder whether the Labour leader will even make it to the next election.

He suffered the indignity, on Wednesday, of losing a Labour conference vote, as members called for the reinstatement of the allowance. This was from the same delegation who, only hours beforehand, had received his conference speech in apparent and no doubt well-choreographed - raptures.

Starmer will ignore the result. It was a vote at a Labour conference, not in the Commons.

But it's a warning sign that things are already beginning to go seriously wrong inside this government.

Not only was the original decision ill-advised, but Starmer and his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, have made things far worse for themselves by trying to make out the bond markets would have suffered a Liz Truss-style meltdown had they not announced the restriction of the winter fuel payment.