Sir Keir Starmer is still prime minister, but the battle to succeed him is in full swing(全面展开). Andy Burnham, the front-runner, has been popping up across northern England wearing bomber jackets and proselytising(极力宣扬) “Manchesterism”, his creed of localism and business-friendly socialism. Wes Streeting, the leading candidate from Labour’s right, is stirring things up by stressing that he wants Britain to rejoin the European Union. That this puts Mr Burnham in a sticky position—he needs to win a by-election in Leave-voting Makerfield before he can stand in a leadership contest—is all part of the fun.(这使伯纳姆陷入尴尬境地——他需要先在脱欧派占多数的梅克菲尔德赢得补选，才有资格参加党首竞选——这正是这场角逐的趣味所在。)
基尔·斯塔默爵士仍是首相，但接替他的争夺战已全面展开。领先者安迪·伯纳姆穿着飞行员夹克出现在英格兰北部各地，宣扬他的“曼彻斯特主义”——一种地方主义与亲商社会主义的信条。来自工党右翼的主要候选人韦斯·斯特里廷则强调他希望英国重新加入欧盟，以此搅动局势。这使伯纳姆陷入尴尬境地——他需要先在脱欧派占多数的梅克菲尔德赢得补选，才有资格参加党首竞选——这一切正是这场角逐的趣味所在。
Even Sir Keir is trying to show there is fight in the old dog yet(老狗还有战斗力). This week his government briefed that it wants supermarkets to cap food prices. This would ape(模仿) a foolish policy north of the border, where the Scottish National Party (SNP) says it will compulsorily cap the price of up to 50 essential foods in big supermarkets. But Labour’s policy would be voluntary. It is vintage(典型的) Sir Keir, seemingly radical but toothless(无牙的，无力的)—and reportedly already sinking.
就连基尔爵士也在试图证明这只老狗还有战斗力。本周，他的政府透露希望超市限制食品价格。这将模仿边境以北的一项愚蠢政策，苏格兰民族党（SNP）表示将对大型超市中多达50种基本食品实行强制性价格上限。但工党的政策将是自愿的。这是典型的基尔爵士风格：看似激进，实则软弱无力——据说已经在夭折中。
A “battle of ideas” is supposedly going on inside the Labour Party. PDFs are flying like bullets across the internet as wonks(政策专家) argue over Britain’s future. But this war is really more of a skirmish. The rhetoric(华丽的辞藻) is outrunning the substance, the differences are smaller than they appear and the debate ducks the most important questions.
一场“思想之战”据称正在工党内部进行。PDF文档像子弹一样在互联网上飞舞，政策专家们就英国未来争论不休。但这场战争其实更像一场小冲突。言辞超越了实质，差异比表面看来更小，而辩论回避了最重要的问题。
The missing think
缺失的思考