Blond Bombsite

The case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being used to beat the drum of war against Iran. Yet not only ought it to have the opposite effect, but it ought also to end the public life of Boris Johnson.

Few or no Conservative supporters from 2017 could ever vote Labour now, or vice versa. But Johnson's only appeal is to people who have only ever voted Conservative at a General Election, and who almost certainly only ever would. 

Merely in order to consolidate that, plus holding on to a negligible number who, faced with Jeremy Corbyn, really might risk voting for Nigel Farage's star vehicle instead of the party that they had supported all their lives, Johnson would drive at least a comparable number of Conservative voters into the hands of the Liberal Democrats, lose several seats that were narrowly won from the SNP last time, and fail to pick up several more that would otherwise have been in play.

No matter what, another hung Parliament is coming, and we need our people to hold the balance of power in it. A new party will be registered before the House of Commons rises for the summer recess, even if I have to pay for it myself, ongoing lawfare or no ongoing lawfare. 

And I will stand for Parliament here at North West Durham even if I can raise only the deposit, which I could do by going pretty overdrawn, although that was not how I was brought up. I would still prefer to raise the £10,000 necessary to mount a serious campaign, but I am no longer making my candidacy conditional on having done so. In any event, please email davidaslindsay@hotmail.com. Very many thanks.