I do get the impression though that Labour try to appeal to people with policies that will 'excite' without always thinking through how they will achieve it in monetary terms.
Exactly this. Everything sounds great. But we don't live in an ideal world, and there is a reason we haven't had a left wing government since the 70's. Labour is even more dead now than when Blair realised it. Increased automation hasn't helped and thats only going one way.