Theresa May Not

Theresa May is overly fond of that lectern in Downing Street.

Using it to pronounce on the day of the Dissolution of Parliament, as if she were the Queen, was very telling indeed, and not in a good way.

Even if the polls are right, then Labour is doing no worse under Jeremy Corbyn than it did under Ed Miliband. Mrs May's landslide is simply not coming.

Indeed, there may be enough Lib Dem gains in the Remain heartlands of the South to cancel out and surpass the Conservative gains in Scotland.

In that case, there would be a hung Parliament.

Meanwhile, it is easy to see why UKIP never got anywhere and now never will. The idea that it has achieved its purpose works only if that sole purpose was to hold the referendum.

Britain has not left the EU, the Lib Dems' holding the balance of power may yet mean that she never did, and no one doubts that UKIP would have dissolved after either outcome on 23rd June 2016.

But whereas there have always been parties to the left of Labour, some of which are older than the Labour Party, the idea of a party to the right of the Conservatives is fundamentally alien to most people.

It just sounds wrong. It was never going to get anywhere. It never will.

By contrast, MPs from outside the Labour Party and in some sense to the left, if not of Corbyn, then of most Labour MPs, are on course to be elected in Scotland (within the SNP, if far from representative of it), in Wales, in the South of England, and, once again, in the North of England.

A lavish reception in honour of Labour's Afzal Khan is being held tomorrow by the Vice-Chairman of Sheffield Conservative Party.

But George Galloway has beaten the Pakistani machine before, in Bradford West, and he will beat it again, in Manchester Gorton.

Plus, of course, there is North West Durham. Please give generously, and please spread the word.