Head of Communications, Annunziata Rees-Mogg, writes that the big question is not why this Labour Government is so bad: what matters is that all of us will suffer from its total incompetence.  

Farmers have long had an acrimonious (to say the least) relationship with their relevant ministers, no matter the hue of the party in charge. But when they are, in a farmer’s words, “missing the previous s*** show” you know “it's bad”.  

This week, Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner appeared in front of a committee to defend the reasoning behind the scrapping of the Sustainable Farming Incentive with no warning - and certainly not the promised six weeks of notice. He could not answer the most basic question and tried to pass the buck to Director of Farming and Countryside, Janet Hughes, a civil servant in Defra. She handed the buck firmly back to Mr. Zeichner, who, although he himself couldn't explain the process, had, according to her, made the decision to close the scheme without giving farmers fair warning.  

It would be laughable if it weren't so grave. Farmers' livelihoods are on the line. The planning for and reliance on such programmes could be pivotal. The idea ministers close lines of revenue without understanding how or why is deeply concerning.  

But we should not single out Mr. Zeichner for not being on top of his brief. Indeed, it seems to be a prerequisite to serving in the current Labour Government. Take Rachel Reeves, who may or may not have worked as an economist at the Bank of England, but who believes that increasing bills for energy, water, council tax, the BBC licence fee, car tax and employers’ NICs will put an extra £500 in an average household's budget. She says her favourite quango says she's right. Spoiler, she's wrong. And she must have misread - or misunderstood - the OBR forecast. 

But at least we have Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. She is busy making herself highly unpopular with the left of the Labour Party for cutting back on who can claim benefits. Except she isn't. According to the Government's own impact assessment of the welfare reforms the changes will lead to “400,000 more people being signed off work” (Source: The Times). To make yourself unpopular with your core supporters whilst doing the exact opposite of what you’re claiming is nonsensical. She cannot have understood the small print. 

We could look to justice for a ray of light. Shabana Mahmood, the Secretary of State is, after all, indisputably a qualified lawyer, unlike some of her colleagues. But then look at how she handled the Sentencing Council and the debacle over the over two-tier justice. She really couldn't have handled it any more ineptly, if she had tried. It would not have been resolved without Robert Jenrick actually understanding what was happening. Worse, it now transpires - again thanks to Robert Jenrick being on top of the Justice brief - that her own officials have put forward even more two-tier proposals (this time on bail applications) and the Sentencing Council is set on making it harder to remove criminal illegal migrants. Could not run a party in the proverbial brewery springs to mind.  

There must be a dash of intelligence and competence somewhere in the Cabinet, though. Surely? With over 400 MPs and a majority of the Lords, they must be able to dig out some actual brains or talent to run the country? 

Well, there’s Ed Miliband who thinks adding costs and subsidies to energy brings down bills. David Lammy who doesn't realise it is unwise to pay billions of pounds to give away strategic territory. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, who thinks she can smash multinational people-smuggling gangs by offering a minimal amount of Crown Prosecution Service advice to other countries: after all, they are so good at it here... Steve Reed at DEFRA wears his newly donated wellies well but has no understanding of farming whatsoever. And in education, Bridget Phillipson has had to do numerous denials, retractions and amendments to her Schools' Bill, having neither read it nor understood some of the basic concepts. I haven't even mentioned Angela Rayner whose Employment Rights' Bill and Renters’ Rights Bill will cost workers their jobs and renters their homes. 

Yet the big question is not why they are so bad. It doesn't matter if it's Keir’s delicate ego, a total lack of competent people, ideology over reality, or party over country. What matters is that all of us will suffer from this total incompetence.  

At the head of this blissfully ignorant rabble is the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who thinks a fictional drama is a documentary. You couldn't make it up.  

There is, fortunately, a glimmer of hope. Despite being hugely diminished in number and not guilt free on making errors themselves, it is the Conservatives that are holding these imbeciles to account, whether it is Robert Jenrick in Justice, Chris Philp in the Home Office, Mel Stride for the Treasury or Laura Trott and Neil O’Brien for Education, the Conservative Party Front Bench are fighting on our behalf and successfully getting rid of some of the more catastrophic errors their Labour counterparts would have let slip through.