Boris Johnson found out at PMQs just how short-lived gratitude is in politics – it’s all about what happens next

It is an iron law in politics that leaders get little credit for doing the right thing if they are seen to have done the wrong thing a short time later, writes John Rentoul

Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson clashed over the easing of the lockdown (PA)

Keir Starmer is now the prime minister the people would prefer to see in No 10, according to an Opinium poll at the weekend. This finding may have tempted him to overreach himself in the House of Commons today, as he suggested that Boris Johnson was not doing enough to protect jobs.

The prime minister showed a little justifiable indignation, pointing out that the government had protected millions of jobs with the furlough scheme, which the Labour Party supported. But if Johnson was surprised that Starmer’s “constructive opposition” turned out to be more opposition than constructive, he is probably doomed to be disappointed with the British people when he discovers how short-lived their gratitude for the furlough scheme will be.

It is an iron law in politics that leaders get little credit for doing the right thing, if they are seen to have done the wrong thing a few months later. Hence Starmer’s ruthless focus on the next stage of the economic crisis.