There are no Conservative spending plans to adhere to, no need to convince the markets that Labour is competent to run the economy, no opposition worthy of the name. Of course, this presupposes that Labour is something more than a collection of control freaks and careerists. To be honest, there are times when it does little to dispel this image. Not so, senior figures in the party say. We have set goals for the second term and we want the public to push us hard to achieve them, just as the Jubilee 2000 coalition kept up the pressure for debt relief.
Cynicism is the enemy of progress.
If Labour wants to be harried, let us harry them. Day in, day out. For the next four years.