Johnson has more to fear over trade talks than just Corbyn’s NHS dossier

The Labour leader may have been able to distract from his poor interview performance with the new documents, but the prime minister has other political and economic worries too

One of the great surprises of the general election of 2017 was Jeremy Corbyn. Still untested in a major campaign, the Labour leader's performances were, on the whole, assured and he actually seemed to be enjoying himself out on the stump. It was stark contrast to his awkward opponent, Theresa May. Mr Corbyn, in other words, far exceeded expectations; Ms May the opposite.

Now Mr Corbyn is better known to people; expectations of him have fallen; yet he still underperforms. Many on his own side, rightly or wrongly, expect the same sort of Corbynite surge that Labour befitted from last time round. There is little sign of that recurring. Within a few days Mr Corbyn has been personally condemned (and rightly) by the chief rabbi and the Archbishop of Canterbury, and been roundly humiliated by a quasi-religious figure of almost equal moral stature – Andrew Neil, king of the inquisitorial interview. Maybe next week the Dali Lama will get stuck into the leader of the opposition. Nicola Sturgeon persecuting Mr Corbyn with increasingly steep demands will have to do in the meantime.

Had Mr Corbyn handled himself even marginally better, the Neil interview might have been something that bolstered his faltering personal ratings, and allowed him to defuse the antisemitism scandal. Of course it didn’t turn out like that.