“But I want to be clear that it is something that takes up my time,” he said.

“I believe that in the end, implementation is the way forward. It’s about a dissatisfaction with policy. The easy answer is tempting when people don’t believe there is a better answer. That’s why progressives have to provide the better answer.”

As POLITICO revealed last week, Starmer’s strategy to suppress the far right after the riots has focused on tackling more prosaic everyday problems like potholes and hospital waiting times.

When he arrived in Berlin, he was warned by Labour allies that hard lessons had to be learned from Germany’s experience, particularly with regard to environmental policies that cost voters deep into their pockets.

“Get rid of the crap”

Starmer’s time in office has been particularly bleak. He has blamed the Conservatives for Britain’s many problems and accused his predecessors, who spent the last 14 years in office, of ruining the economy and amassing a £22 billion financial black hole.

But if the British prime minister is to overcome the threat from the far right, he must – by his own standards – deliver on his promises and turn things around before the next general election in five years’ time.