Last Friday, The Guardian reported Sir Keir was to launch a Labour fightback this week with a “policy blitz”, beginning to set out “key planks of a future Labour government after concerns over direction”. Guido looked forward to the launch, keen to comb through the intellectual offerings during an otherwise dull recess week. There’s been a hiccup however, there have been no new policy offerings so far…

A keynote speech from deputy Angela Rayner today called for a £10-per-hour pay rate for social care workers, however Labour already announced this policy in November 2020, even cutting and pasting parts of their previous announcement into today’s:

23 November 2020:

“Speaking at online rally for fair pay organised by Labour Unions this evening (Monday), Rayner, who was a care worker before becoming an MP will call on the government to end “poverty wages””.

17 February 2021:

“Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, who was a home care worker before becoming an MP, will today argue that a pay rise for social care heroes is “well overdue””.

Guido’s been through all of Labour’s embargoed press releases sent since Sunday evening and found four were responses, one was analysis without policy and the other was Rayner’s already-announced care worker pay rise. Halfway through the week and the policy blitz looks more like an advance on Moscow in winter…