Labour might have a big lead in the polls – but the Tories aren’t out of it yet

Keir Starmer will kick off conference full of confidence about next year’s general election, writes former home secretary David Blunkett. But the race is tight – and the leadership must not ignore the lessons of the past if it wants to win

‘When people ask me whether this is a 1992 moment (when Labour lost) or a 1997 moment (when Labour won a landslide under Tony Blair), my answer is: neither’ (PA)

After the shambolic and divided Tory Party Conference, the PR fiasco of the HS2 volte-face, and a thumping victory in the Rutherglen by-election, Labour’s hopes for their conference are naturally high.

However, we live in an era of political amnesia where each incoming Tory leader presents years of Conservative rule as entirely someone else’s fault.

John Major managed the same trick in 1992, having replaced Margaret Thatcher. Labour leader, Neil Kinnock, had spent years trying to make Labour electable after the devastating 1983 landslide win for Mrs Thatcher, but ultimately failed – despite 13 years of Tory rule.