I believed Starmer and Reeves were too smart to repeat austerity. It appears I was wrong

New governments usually come into office with an agenda to try to move on from the sorry past – but not this time. Last week Keir Starmer told the country that things were “worse than we ever imagined” and that the public should prepare for “short-term pain for long-term good”. In other words, the government is preparing us for unnecessary cuts.