It has never been worse for Labour, at least according to the polls. Some now place it as the fourth party of British politics. The impending local elections in May mean there’s more pain to come. But there is an international example that could provide some encouragement and hope for Keir Starmer and Labour.

Around this time last year, Australia’s Labor prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was fighting a federal election campaign. He faced a deeply uncertain future. His first term in office was marked by exceeding caution and delivered few notable achievements. His signature reform, a referendum to introduce a “voice to parliament” for Indigenous Australians (an advisory body), was crushingly defeated. His government struggled to convince voters it was doing enough to ease cost of living pressures.

Many were anticipating if not a Labor defeat, then at best a Labor minority government. Yet the result was a stunning victory for Albanese. Labor secured a substantial swing and massive parliamentary majority. In the year since, Labor’s rival centre-right coalition has descended into chaos, with the leaders of both the Liberal and National parties replaced.

For Labour in the UK, the story might give some hope in what are desperate times. Starmer could be thinking that he, too, can do what Albanese has done and turn his fortunes around. If this sounds faintly ridiculous, such a prospect also seemed remote for Albanese.

For all his........

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