What did Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves achieve in Davos?

Labour leader’s Alpine trip was a small but significant exercise in profile-building says Sean O’Grady

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in the Alpine resort of Davos (Reuters)

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been to the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. In contrast to their absent counterparts they seem to have made a good, if low-key, impression.

Why is Keir Starmer in Davos?

It’s what opposition leaders and politicians on the rise need to do. Although not in government, at the World Economic Forum they at least look like players who can make a mark on a global stage. Boris Johnson attended while Mayor of London, and David Cameron, when leader of the opposition, made a desperate and dangerous motorcycle dash down a motorway in 2007 to catch the last plane to Switzerland and put his then-unknown face around among the “masters of the universe”.