Relief – but another unforced error from Starmer

A mighty sigh of relief sweeps across the country. Above all else, what mattered was the emphatic rejection of Nigel Farage’s poison, as a resounding 67% of progressive voters chased off Reform’s mere 29% support. The darkness of Reform’s apparent poll lead starts to melt away. The Gorton and Denton result avoided a split between anti-Reform parties that would let Farage’s party slither into the seat despite overwhelming opposition. Its malevolent candidate, Matt Goodwin, whisked away with a characteristically sulphurous hiss of spite about the “a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives”.

The calamitous result for Labour is, in comparison, a second-order matter in this era of the crumbling old party duopoly. (The Tories lost their deposit.) Keir Starmer suffers blow after blow as battalions of troubles fall on him, knocked by the Epstein fallout despite no personal connection, while Trump – so far – escapes despite close intimacy.

But this result adds to the tally of Starmer’s unforced errors. Everyone visiting the constituency found plentiful voters who would have voted for Andy Burnham had Starmer not fixed the NEC to block him. A craftier politician would have hugged Burnham close as an asset. Would Burnham have beaten such a strong showing from the Greens? We shall never know if he dodged a bullet. This “what-if” swells his reputation, though he may have no chance to join any imminent leadership challenge.

Labour’s prospects for May’s elections plunged even lower last night. A Green party that once seemed flaky will now often look like the safer anti-Reform vote if they can field more pitch-perfect candidates like Hannah Spencer: plumber,........

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