Almost everything Labour said about the freebies was a mistake

Even if each excuse was factually correct, the picture Labour projects does not bode well for the party - or for British democracy.

To judge from the tone and pace of media coverage, you would hardly guess it’s the previous, not the incumbent government that was among the sleaziest and most corruptible in British history. From the moment Parliament came back in September, Labour has been on the defensive about taking a dizzying array of freebies and favours from party donors: from c…