Thirtysomething politicos pay good money to hear Alastair Campbell reminisce before a live audience these days. On Tuesday evening advisers to Sir Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet got to hear it all free. The spads of tomorrow piled into a meeting room for motivational speeches on the gruelling campaign that awaits them this year. New Labour’s sultan of spin gave a sermon against complacency punctuated with practical advice. Starmer’s election machine will not function, Campbell warned, without two things: sleep and a regular intake of fruit.
To this we can usefully add a third suggestion. Regardless of whether its staff are well rested or at risk of scurvy, the opposition needs something to say about the economy. The diagnosis — Trussitis — was easily done. But
