Keir Starmer is looking ahead to an election – hence his political rethink

The image Starmer wants to project is that he is leading his party, even if it means causing a stir by revising his policy pledges, writes Sean O’Grady

The Labour leader is publicly discarding some of his own personal manifesto promises (PA)

It is one thing to execute a U-turn in government, when real-world forces and exigencies of the moment force a humiliating change in course; but quite another to do so quite voluntarily whilst still in opposition.

After all, far away from the tough choices poised in office, opposition leaders can have much more leeway to make extravagant, uncosted promises based on heroic economic assumptions (rather as Liz Truss, a sort of leader of the internal opposition in her own party, is doing now).

Not so Keir Starmer. He is behaving as if he is already in government, no doubt to remind and persuade doubtful voters that it is in fact he, and not Rishi Sunak or Truss, who is supposed to be the “alternative prime minister”. And a radical and decisive one at that.