Labour gets ball rolling on its plan to reshape UK

Let's be honest: when politicians talk about the structures of government - how politics works, or doesn't - it doesn't set many hearts racing.

I must admit to the odd flutter, but then I am paid to be a bit weird about this stuff.

It isn't punter-friendly, retail politics.

What really matters are outcomes, rather than processes.

Labour's bet is that things won't improve without a re-wiring of who takes decisions and where.

Or, to put it another way, better processes, as they see them, will lead to better outcomes, they hope.

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But how much of this will they deliver if they win?

They haven't absolutely committed to any of it yet; that will wait for their programme for government, their manifesto, a few weeks before the next general election.

Senior figures tell me Keir Starmer does believe in everything in Gordon Brown's weighty and lengthy treatise — he would have insisted on anything he didn't like going in the bin before the document saw the light of day.

On the face of it, you might wonder what connects the House of Lords, the future integrity or otherwise of the United Kingdom and communities that feel left behind.

Labour's thesis is that a perceived lack of political influence in all sorts of spots around the UK, away from the south east of England, drove many people to back Brexit and many in Scotland to back independence.

Perhaps, but then plenty were motivated by a more straightforward belief in the propositions they endorsed in those referendums.

Keir Starmer commissioned former PM Gordon Brown to write Labour's report on constitutional change

Labour is also arguing such a centralised political system reinforces a sense of dislocation, irritation and economic under-performance.

Perhaps, but governments for around a century have sought to address the inequalities of geography in the UK, with at best limited success.

And there isn't likely to be much extra new money about for a Labour government to give all this a kickstart, if indeed they concluded money would make an important difference.

The Conservatives argue this all amounts to navel-gazing and they've done plenty of devolution themselves — handing power away from Westminster.

And the Scottish National Party reckon Labour's idea of giving more power to the Scottish government and parliament are underwhelming and reheated.

Then there's the issue of what, in the end, Labour chooses to focus on.

Broad canvas

To govern, or aspire to govern, is to prioritise —and an incoming government, of whatever complexion, will inherit one heck of an in-tray.

"It's not the first one hundred days stuff, this," as one party source acknowledged.

But the announcements reveal a willingness for Labour to embark on a wholesome conversation beyond immediate short-term political horizons, in the hope a roadworthy set of ideas emerges for it to attempt to deliver.

And that, in itself, is indicative of a confidence, borne of opinion polls that now suggest Labour can win the next election.

A criticism that has dogged the Labour leader has been that few people know what he stands for.

Sir Keir Starmer is beginning - at last, some say - and albeit in rather general terms, to paint the broad canvas of his vision for a Labour government.

He knows the demand for detail will soon grow, as will the scrutiny.