Labour MPs fear Keir Starmer’s cautious approach could help Liz Truss

MPs increasingly fear the party leader has swallowed whole a New Labour playbook 25 years out of date, writes Andrew Grice

Some Labour MPs agree, while Starmer allies naturally dispute such criticism (PA)

"People have no clear idea what Labour or its leader stand for. A growing number of Labour MPs wonder whether they made the right choice, fearing their leader is relying too heavily on Tories losing the next election and not doing enough to win it.”

There is internal grumbling that he is not giving a strong enough lead, including on policy, and about the performance of his private office. The leader, a forensic lawyer, has “helped to destroy public trust in the government. The task now is to build confidence and trust in the Labour Party”.

I wrote those words almost 30 years ago, about the then opposition leader John Smith. To my surprise, my article in The Sunday Times is now doing the rounds among academics and Labour figures on the grounds the words apply to Keir Starmer today.