Starmer? It's Reeves pointing the way forward for Labour

The party conference season is over, having confirmed the new power in the land. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, is now running the country. Keir Starmer, who had a successful conference, would be nowhere without her.

- JOHN RENTOUL

The expectation of a Labour government within a year is built on the rock of her control over the finances of the incoming administration. She has established the strategy for the election, which is to make no uncosted, unfunded spending promises and to accept Conservative plans for spending, taxing and borrowing with minor, specified exceptions. Starmer agrees with the strategy, but it is not his; it is hers. Looking back, we can see that 9 May 2021 was an important date in the restoration of Labour's credibility. That was when Reeves was promoted from shadow minister for the Cabinet Office to shadow chancellor.

To say that this was significant is not to disparage Anneliese Dodds, Starmer's first shadow chancellor. Dodds has done heroic, if unsung, work since as shadow equalities minister, rescuing Starmer and the party from its unpopular embrace of gender self-identification. But she was never going to be the right person to assert Labour's credentials as the party of fiscal discipline. That task fell to Reeves, who is a good fit. Economist at the Bank of England. Chess player. Strong public speaker. Brutal with Tories in the House of Commons. Quick and partisan in debate. Sharp political instincts.