Some accuse Sir Keir Starmer’s Government of being slow. Slow to make its mind up, slow to respond to a crisis, slow to deliver. That isn’t wholly fair – it’s certainly never been slow to find an excuse for not keeping its promises.

The trend began immediately after the 2024 election. No sooner had the Prime Minister arrived in Downing Street than the excuse-making began.

Recall the “£22bn black hole” – just £22bn, what luxurious times those were! – which the Chancellor claimed to have found in the public finances. This, we were told, necessitated cuts to Winter Fuel Payments, reining in rising welfare spending, raising employers’ National Insurance and more.

It didn’t work, as is evident from the reversal on winter fuel payments and the failure to get welfare reform past Labour MPs. But, as a new government, there was reason for Downing Street to hope that those early weeks were a plausible window of opportunity in which to pile blame on to their predecessors.

Almost two years later, that window has well and truly closed. The Government may be younger than its battered exterior would suggest, but it certainly isn’t new.

This is now a midterm administration, approaching the halfway mark to the next election. As a result, voters may reasonably ask to see the fruits of its efforts. Not a lot has so far been........

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