Labour will today try to shift the national narrative back to domestic issues.
Ironically for someone who made his name through his interest in the international sphere Jeremy Corbyn has found it easier to make progress when focusing on domestic matters.
While Labour, particularly in Parliament, has struggled to find agreement on Syria or Russia, for instance, the party has managed to coalesce around Mr Corbyn’s anti-austerity agenda.
The Labour hawks tend to be diplomatic rather than fiscal.
With the local elections looming, the Labour leader will today be joined by Shadow Housing Minister John Healey to announce plans for at least one million truly affordable homes .
One of the mockeries of the current housing laws is that an affordable home to rent is classed as one which is no more than 80% of the average market rent in that area.
In parts of London this means tenants can theoretically be charged rents of more than ten times their salary.
At the same time there has been a sharp drop in the number of affordable homes being built.
Last year 5,380 homes for social rent were built, the lowest on record, and down from 39,560 in 2010-11.
The Spectator points out this week the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds in private rented accommodation has almost doubled in the last ten years.
A report by the Resolution Foundation warns that half of millennials will be renting in their 40s , and a third could still be renting by the time they claim their pensions.
The Conservatives have been making great efforts in recent weeks to try to win over younger voters (see below) but they can ban all the plastic they want, be as kind to as many animals as possible and hand out free rail cards to every student in England but it will not make a jot of difference unless they address the housing crisis.
Theresa May is also keen to move the conversation on from the Windrush fiasco.
The PM big-footed Michael Gove this morning by announcing the Government’s latest measure in the war on plastic - plans to ban cotton buds, straws and drink stirrers .
The Government should be given credit for its work in this area but you cannot help thinking that if any other party had intervened in this way they would be accused of furthering the nanny state.
It is worth remembering that when Nick Clegg first proposed a plastic bag tax in 2013 it was derided by Jacob Rees-Mogg as an “abuse of the tax system” and an example the “man in Whitehall knows best” approach to government.
Today’s agenda:
9.15am - John McDonnell gives speech at Bloomberg, London, on the financial sector.
9.30am - Transport Questions in the Commons.
10.30am - Andrea Leadsom delivers her regular statement on Commons business.
11.30am - Backbench debate on surgical mesh implants led by Emma Hardy MP.
5.30pm - Justin Trudeau gives press conference at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
What I am reading:
Aditya Chakrabortty on the low-paid cleaners taking on an a corporate giant.
What I am listening to:
Our latest Ayes to the Left podcast . I'm joined by Nicola Bartlett and Dan Bloom to discuss Windrush, anti-Semitism and how the parties will fare in next month's local elections.