On the 75th anniversary of the Attlee govt, you'd hope Labour would remember that they won in 1945 by proposing to go further with the emergency policies developed during wartime, from planning & nationalisation to healthcare, not by urging caution or a return to "normality".
The Tories are not outflanking Labour as part of a cunning plan to retain the Red Wall, they're simply responding to circumstance & public expectation. I have no doubt they'd prefer not to & will revert to type ASAP. In other words, Labour just needs to hold its ground/nerve.
The manifestos of 2017 & 2019 provide an ideal basis for Labour going forward, but it's clear Starmer's aim is to (slowly) repudiate them. They're still trying to win arguments they lost in 2010 & 2015. The poor opinion polling reflects this, not any aversion to Labour per se.
