Get your act together comrades

What do we want?
A decently funded health and social care system!
When do we want it?
At the next general election when we might know a teensy-weensy bit more about the country’s economic circumstances!
Why not now, haven’t you thought about it for long enough?
Because we’re afraid of our own shadow!
 
That pretty much is an accurate executive summary of an interview conducted on the Today programme this morning with Labour’s shadow social care minister. I have rarely heard such a dire performance of toe-curling, on-message politico non-speak. Is this the kind of thing that’s enthusing the voters? Does the party seriously think it can delay saying anything specific, positive and concrete on such a subject until a few months before the election? Clearly the answer is yes. The right wing Starmerites had a field day criticising Corbyn for bombarding the electorate with too many policy announcements in the run-up to the last election. Now they want to avoid scrutiny and save their big announcements until it is too late this time. But maybe they haven’t got any big announcements to make?