Purge Not Splurge

Try as it might to rebuild Labour as the party of working people like that nice Mr Murdoch, Team Starmer has not yet been able to remove all trace of the pernicious trade union influence. Now that the Ten Pledges have narrowed to the Five Missions (doubtless to be further renovated into the Three Vague Possibilities and then, once in office, to the Zero Alternative), certain undesirable elements are beginning to push back against the shadow chancellor's sacred fiscal straitjacket. "If you're serious about rebuilding the NHS, repairing and renewing services," pointed out the general secretary of the TUC, "we're going to have to find the money from somewhere" - a problem that does not grow more tractable as long as Team Starmer sensibly, moderately and non-ideologically refuses either to tax the rich or to contemplate any significant reset of the mainland's relationship with the beastly Euro-wogs. Given that the Dear Leader's idea of rebuilding the NHS is to knock it off its pedestal and into the fires of change, it seems likely that Team Starmer will solve the conundrum by not being serious about repairing and renewing services; though by the usual fortunate financial wizardry sufficient cash is almost certain to be on hand to maintain the nation's commitment to wog-bombing.