By James Hanson

At the last general election, the front page of the Labour manifesto was simple.

It featured a large photo of Sir Keir Starmer and a single word: ‘change’. After 14 years of Conservative government, much of which was dominated by infighting, incompetence and breaches of public trust, the Labour leader promised to turn the page.

I didn’t vote for Starmer, but even I expected his premiership to be, at the very least, calm, competent and go some way to restoring standards in public life. I also thought he’d use Labour’s 174-seat majority to attempt bold policy solutions to some of Britain’s biggest structural problems, such as social care, housing and infrastructure.

Instead, the man who promised change has delivered more of the same. Where once Tory psychodrama raged, now constant Labour leadership speculation abounds. Where the last Conservative government squandered its parliamentary majority, this Downing Street has been similarly reluctant to wield its - even greater - power. Most egregiously of all, Starmer’s promise to restore standards in public life has proven........

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