Starmer too defensive

I fear that the Labour MPs mentioned in the Inside Westminster article by Stephen Bush who "worry that Starmer`s unwillingness to risk a little temporary unpopularity" is costly, because it leads to missed opportunities, are putting it mildly (The woes of the Pandemic PM, 8th January)! Why park the bus, as Hunter Davies might say, at one end, when goals are there for the taking at the other? Closing the gap with the Tories on economic competence is vital for an election victory, yet Labour hasn`t even challenged Sunak`s ridiculous claim about having a "moral duty" to reduce the national debt, a Tory harbinger if ever there was one for a return to some sort of austerity. Has Starmer ever disputed the chancellor`s £2tn debt figure, including as it does £875bn of quantitative easing, or even mentioned in passing that the US`s debt is £20tn, or that the real "moral" obligation is to those who are struggling to pay the rent or feed their children? If, as his supporters suggest, "what matters most" is Starmer`s "personal lead over Johnson", adopting Mourinho-like tactics over the recent education debacle seems ludicrous. As the incompetent Williamson clearly doesn`t make the crucial U-turning decisions, his boss should be the one in the opposition`s line of fire. Of course, Williamson should have provided the required laptops to enable remote learning for all, but if the Tories are so concerned about the education of disadvantaged pupils as they now claim, shouldn't this have been made obvious years ago? Perhaps their preference for grammar schools, ending the Education Maintenance allowance for sixth formers, and watching as underfunded SureStart centres closed, took precedence? An over-cautious Starmer appears to have forgotten the ten pledges he made , not only to unite the party, but to win the leadership contest. He does need to ensure the public can "pick him out of a line-up"at the end of 2021, but not because of being the one who broke his promises, and let an incompetent prime minister off the hook!