The narrative went like this. Since coming to power in 2010, the Tories have made a right mess of things. Misguided austerity has resulted in weak growth and flatlining living standards. Public services have been starved of money and too little has been done to safeguard the future of the planet. Failure on such a comprehensive scale requires a different approach.
After last week's emasculation of its gre 1 prosperity plan, the storyline has changed. It now reads: the Tories have left Britain in a parlous state but if you vote for us little will change. We are continuity Conservatism.
Previously, Labour was going into the election offering a mild form of green Keynesianism as the alternative to stagnation. It will now be appealing to voters on the basis that it can run the status quo more competently than the current lot.
To be fair, that wouldn't be all that difficult. After the psychodramas of a parliament that has given us three prime ministers in Downing Street and five chancellors at the Treasury, some stability would not go amiss.
What's more, Labour always needs to persuade a sceptical electorate it can run the economy competently. Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are understandably reluctant to have the next election campaign dominated not by the government's dismal economic record but by Labour's £28bn "tax bombshell", which is what Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt would prefer. The scars of the 1992 defeat are still livid.
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