Opposition star on rise?

Sir, - Should we be too hard on Diane Abbott for her gaffe about the costs of providing 10,000 extra police for England and Wales?

Certainly modern politicians are expected to be on top of their brief and trained to present policies and their financial impact in a professional way.

She fell short on all these counts. But in the long history of Labour election campaign mistakes, it might not be too serious.

Compared to Gordon Brown’s indiscretion in calling Mrs Gillian Duffy bigoted in 2010 or Ed Miliband standing beside a large tablet of stone with all sorts of promises on it two years ago, it may yet prove to be a minor setback.

Labour does need to realise that the public always want an accurate cost of any commitments that are made.

So far, the man responsible for its policy on the economy, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, has kept a low profile.

This will change once the party manifesto is published.

His homely, detailed, cost-conscious approach may yet prove attractive to voters, contrasting well with the more bland style of Chancellor Philip Hammond on matters like pensions, tax credits, tax incentives for business and the costs of Brexit.

It would be idle to pretend that he could do more than keep the eventual Conservative majority well down into double figures. He may still prove to be a star for an opposition campaign that at present seems to flounder under the weight of bad presentation.