Thread on why the Left / Labour reaction to the Treasury leak story is a disappointing foretaste of the next 5 years:

First thing it’s not a ‘gotcha’ moment, this was no announcement of policy by the Chancellor but a leak of an options document. It’s an easy story...
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..for Tory ministers to push back on.

Next this is a very clear kite flying to frame the debate. The Treasury is not a hot bed of Corbynista’s determined to bring the Tories down with leaks. This was a story placed in the “Torygraph” by Tories. Not seeing that is naive.
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This is a classic put the worst option out there, do something a bit less worse, get hailed for doing that. It literally happened in the last 24 hours on furloughing. Remember the “rumours” the Tories were going to cut it, they didn’t and Sunak even gets praise from the Left.
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The Left, especially social media activists need to wise up to when we’re being played like this and not walk straight into stuff like this. With leaks, always ask why now and who benefits most from the leak?
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Strategically it’s a big moment for Labour. What’s it to be, be forensic” about this or state your alternative? Ask for clarity on the detail, ask for a delay or a denial is to do what Labour did in 2010. Accept the Tory approach is it, and let it dominate the debate.
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The only way not to accept the Tory agenda is to set out what your alternative economic plan is. Make the Tories react to that and use this as a way to educate the public on how you have a better plan than the Tories. Labour still has a credibility gap with..
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..a large chunk of the public on the economy. The public have been conditioned to see public debt as bad. And as damaging as these Treasury options are, they will be seen, rightly or wrongly, by many as logical. The Left needs a powerful sustained effort to shift that..
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..This episode is the first test of whether we do that. Key to that is stating the alternative in clear terms. The tweet below from @paulmasonnews is a decent attempt. We need more of this. Seeing Tory click bait for what it is and use it to outline the alternative.
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What happens to the economy #AfterCOVID / the “new normal” will be the key battleground on the way to the next GE. It will be a battle of ideas, currently on the Left / Labour we’re behind. Tricks like this leak let the Tories keep setting the ground. We need to adapt not react.