This Labour government began their mandate for change cushioned by a sky-high majority and a public perception that things could only get better.

No-one expected 14 years of a toxic Tory legacy to be banished in weeks or months, but hopes were high that the new administration would mark a dramatic ideological shift. A new era, marked by a fairer society.

To date though, some policy announcements would lead one to wonder whether Starmer’s government have fallen foul of some type of Stockholm Syndrome.

Being in opposition and watching the Conservatives announce one hare-brained scheme after another has brainwashed them into thinking that this is how to govern.

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As difficult as it is to admit, it appears Labour is the captive of doctrines which punish the most disempowered and vulnerable people in our society. Who could have guessed the drugging of unemployed people and coaching those with mental illnesses would be policy priorities?

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall’s plan to cut welfare spending includes sending job coaches into mental health hospitals to get inpatients back to work.

What bright spark dreamt this up? Do they really imagine that people who are being treated in mental health settings........

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