Like nature, inter-party strife abhors a vacuum. And mercifully the Conservatives have finally realised that Sunak is the only game in town to head off political genocide and make a small win escape the realms of delusional fantasy.
My litmus test was appearing on television with two well known trouble makers for the Prime Minister, Rees Mogg and Fabricant. I asked them in terms whether they thought the best chance of doing well at the next election was to support Sunak. They agreed. Robustly. Fabbers went even further by saying that the ERG consisted of over one hundred members and only twenty two came out to vote against the Windsor Agreement. Even more telling was when he said that he used to support the idea of the uncorrupted body of St Boris to be put on display to worshippers in the hope that he would be resurrected to the Prime Ministership. And even Nadine Dorries seems to have been locked in the attic. Of course, there is always Cruella who can be relied upon to say something really stupid and possibly resign. But who really gives a toss? Expectations about the local elections have been sensibly managed, so prepare for ‘these are much more encouraging than we expected….green shoots of electoral recovery…blah, blah, blah’. Oh, and it appears that Raab and his ridiculous Bill of Rights have been given the last rites. All we need now is for the Chairman of the BBC to throw in the towel and spend more time with his money and the decks will have been swabbed.
And now for that vacuum. The last few days of non Conservative cannibalism should have been a golden opportunity for Starmer to launch his vision thing. Sadly, he has caved in to the the young techno Turks who think it would be brilliant to play lowdown and dirty. To accuse Sunak of crashing the economy, decriminalising rape and being the paedo’s friend. It’s a bit like saying that Mother Theresa was a mass murderer. Nobody believes it because it is clearly a crude lie. And the electorate are fed up with being lied to. They want stability, and for the parties to, as honestly as they can, set out the alternatives for them to consider.
I was genuinely surprised at Starmer for caving into the demands of the barmies. Somehow I was naive enough to expect more of him. And I suspect that the electorate are rather disappointed that he is no better than Johnson or Truss. Worse, the Young Techo Turks are cock a hoop that their schoolboy wheeze has attracted the headlines whilst not appreciating that the coverage has been negative. Now, because Yvette Cooper and some of the other grown ups are rather concerned about this there are wild accusations that she is deliberately undermining the leadership and will be sacked. The Shadow Cabinet is said to be divided.
How bollock clenchingly stupid. Descending into the gutter should only be countenanced if you are on the ropes, when you have run out of ammunition and all is lost. It’s the last Hurrah to encourage the troops to fight to the last ballot. Even then it’s bloody stupid. Labour is twenty points ahead. It should be concentrating on being reasonable, sensible and competent. Now Starmer has started a civil war on both fronts. The sensible Blairites whom he needs and the mad Corbynite left whom he doesn’t. Bad politics and dodgy judgement are not good qualities in a potential Prime Minister.
The Labour ball has escaped from the scrum and Sunak should run with it. But more in sorrow than in anger. Climb to the moral high ground and stay there.