When politicians can’t admit they are losing, they say they are listening. Your anger has been heard, says the contrite minister after a byelection drubbing. We are addressing the concerns, says the government spokesperson on the eve of a backbench rebellion. Sometimes, it is even true. Usually, it is too late.

The optimal time for Downing Street to have started paying attention to Labour MPs’ complaints about disability benefit cuts was before the uprising threatened to torpedo a flagship government bill.

It was not, in the end, sunk, but it is listing low in the water. A humiliating Commons defeat was averted on Tuesday night by rolling concessions, diluting and deferring the policy with mounting, chaotic urgency as the vote drew near. 49 Labour MPs still voted to kill the bill anyway.

Serious engagement on the substance of the rebels’ complaints only began once it became clear they were legion and resistant to the conventional whips’ arsenal of threats, pleas and career-advancing inducements. By that stage, relations between No 10 and the backbenches were befogged with suspicion and resentment.

Withdrawing financial support from people with disabilities was always going to be a hard sell to Labour MPs. Blurring the line between reform and fiscal parsimony didn’t help. It is hard to persuade sceptics that the Department for Work and Pensions will prioritise compassion when cost-cutting under Treasury duress clearly dictates the pace and scope of policy. That mistrust aggravates misgiving about Keir Starmer’s strategy and the faultiness of his political antennae.

Internal anxiety about Labour’s purpose has grown as the party’s popularity has shrivelled. There are many reasons for the steep collapse in support since the election. Two of the most commonly cited are lack of rigorous policy preparation in opposition and Starmer’s struggle to inspire audiences with a clear sense of what he wants from power.

Those might be the same........

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