Hardly surprising to hear so many calls for a plague on all parties after gang warfare in the Westminster playground and bizarre antics from Squishy Rishi in “Drowning Street”, I kept waiting for a drenched Eric Morecambe to emerge from under a drainpipe, twirl his truncheon and yell: “What do you think of it so far?”

All too often a sad majority of those who spread most abuse and anger across our political spectrum don’t even bother to take their passions or grievances as far as the ballot box.

I’ve heard them trying to justify such inertia with throwaway lines like “I don’t want to encourage them” and “What’s the point? They’re all alike”.

Yes, empty vessels keep clanging away while too many candidates liable to get tipsy (if not drunk) on their own self-importance simply add to a febrile climate in Parliament and on the streets.

It’s too easy to agitate and so hard for meaningful debate to break out. Insults and cheap slogans multiply while mutual respect, good manners and basic honesty flounder, not least in murky shadows of social media where made-up names and........

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