Labour’s desire to demonstrate economic competence may come at a cost

Keir Starmer’s U-turn on pledge to abolish university tuition fees is poorly timed just before local elections

A month before the 1992 general election, which the Tories won even though many expected to see Labour in Downing Street, shadow chancellor John Smith set out his tax and spending plans in a high-stakes moment of political theatre.

His shadow budget was published in a “red book” that deliberately mimicked the Treasury’s own budget document, while Smith and his frontbench team even posed for pictures on the steps of the Treasury.