As Keir Starmer publishes a 1,500-word rebuttal to the Labour heavyweights who criticised in writing his government’s failures, Andrew Grice argues that – with Whitehall already engulfed in a blame game over broken promises and questions about the prime minister’s survival – this is no time for long, political screeds I t has been dubbed “the battle of the essays”. Keir Starmer has penned almost 3,000 words, hitting back at Tony Blair’s 5,700-word demolition of Starmer’s approach in government.