Kemi's candidate loses their deposit

 

And so the Labour Party has lost the Gorton & Denton by-election to the Greens.  Reform came second and Labour 3rd but perhaps most shocking is the result for the Conservatives who managed only 709 votes.  This wasn't exactly a conservative stronghold in the first place but that's so few that they're only a couple of hundred votes above the Liberal Democrats are Sir Oinkalot.  Why is this? Are the Conservatives - the party that gave us Churchill, Macmillan and Baldwin, really that toxic?  Would people really rather vote for the really nasty party than the nasty party? Is Kemi weighed down by Sunak's baggage?  Will their followers ever forgive them?  What is it about snakeoil salesman Mr Toad that still attracts people? Will the Tory party veer to the right?  Well, most of it's Jenricks and Bravermen would seem to have already jumped ship... as rats do when the ship is sinking.  Of course there have been other populist surges to small parties in the past... Some will remember the rise of the SDP in the 80s...

A bubble that burst.... but we're definitely seeing a fracturing.... As voters drift off to the extremes of politics....  Of course the result is a disaster for Keir Starmer.  But for the Tories it's a muted catastrophe.  I wonder how long Kemi will remain with results like this.  Then again does anyone else want her poison chalice?  The problem for the Conservatives is an existential one.  What are they for? Recently Kemi has been attacking Labour over Tuition fees and promising to reduce student loan repayments.  It all sounds good but really... We all know we're more likely to see a pig with wings than the government reduce student debt burden ... particularly in the current economic climate... And with government debt so high and growth so low.  You'd have to be born yesterday to buy that one...  I mean if you believe that one you probably believe Clinton just hung out with Epstein for the charitable donations.  What both main parties lack is a sense of purpose.  There may not be money for much these days but...