Meanwhile in the Labour Party...

[Sheilbh]

Well it's the Labour leadership that reported him and the Labour leadership that might (or not - it is very bold) use the party rulebook to disqualify him.

Speaking of top barristers (who routinely used to outperform Johnson when she shadowed him), Emily Thornberry couldn't get the support of enough affiliates or constituencies to make the final round. She was never going to win and I have issues with her, but I will miss her 20 B&H a day tones and sense of humour at all of these events.

[Sheilbh]

It's only a council by-election but lots of people hyperventilating about this result in Middlesbrough (the previous councillor - elected as a Conservative - stood down because he's now being prosecuted on child pornography charges ).

From what I can see on Twitter, left Twitter is split between people mainly blaming the Lib Dems and people suggesting that maybe this sort of thing is a little bit of a warning sign for Labour.

Coulby Newham (Middlesbrough) result:

CON: 49.0% (-0.1)
LAB: 19.9% (-31.0)
LDEM: 18.4% (+18.4)
IND: 6.4% (+6.4)
IND: 6.3% (+6.3)

Conservative HOLD.

Chgs. w/ 2019

[Josquius]

The tories are riding high in Middlesbrough at the moment. The mayor is a tory and he's very good at pr. Recently the council bought back some abandoned industrial land for a low price and is promising to use it for all manner of wonderful things and generally spouting brexity rhetoric around it.

[Eddie Teach]

How is it a conservative hold if labour got 50.9% last time?

[Sheilbh]

How is it a conservative hold if labour got 50.9% last time?

Most (all?) council wards are multi-member. So in this case there are three councillors. It's historically an area Labour does well in so they stood three candidates and their only opponent was one Tory. So overall the vote was 51% Labour, 49% Tory but the result was two Labour councillors, one Tory.

The councillor who has since been charged with child sexual abuse and hasn't attended the council for over 6 months (prompting an automatic by-election) was the Tory councillor, which is why it's a Tory hold.

[Josquius]

Ballots are out.
For leader it's clear to me. I've been a fan of Keir for a while.
Deputy however is one I shall have to do more research on. None stand out as particularly great.

[Sheilbh]

I really like Angela Rayner for Deputy. But I think I'll go second preference for her after Ian Murray just because I think we need a Scottish voice at the top table. If Labour can't start to win Scotland back then they need to win up to and including Jacob Rees-Mogg's seat to win a majority. Which is a challenge.

I'll be voting Nandy, then I'm not sure if RLB or Starmer for second choice. I think they'll both be fairly catastrophic.

[Josquius]

How's Starmer catastrophic?

Nandy will probably be my second choice. Though I think that will likely prove fairly irrelevant. Starmer is almost certain to be in the top 2。

[Sheilbh]

Honestly the biggest issue with Keir Starmer is he gives me massive Ed Miliband vibes. I never really understood the appeal of him either.

There's other points too - but I think that's probably the biggest reasons.

I've no doubt he'd do well in the Commons, like William Hague (and Johnson, unlike Blair, is lazy and won't be particularly well-briefed), but will possibly get similar results. The best I think Starmer can achieve is something like Kinnock where he slowly recovers but not actually enough to win.

On the other hand no party's won four elections in a row - which is something on Labour's side.

[Sheilbh]

Someone knew has announced they're running for Lib Dem leader - and I had genuinely forgotten (a) the Lib Dems exist and (b) are having a leadership contest.

In part, that reflects on them, but in part it took me back to New Labour. It's going to be weird getting used to a government with a majority and politics "as normal" again - the opposition is typically irrelevant and what really matters is the opposition within officialdom or the governing party.

[Josquius]

If only politics was normal again. The Tories unchained.... It's a return to the dark days of the 80s rather than new Labour alas.

It's weird to think as it certainly didn't seem it at the time but the Blair government was our golden age wasn't it

[Eddie Teach]

Queen Victoria was your golden age.

[Josquius]

On the leadership election, apparently there's a lot of complaints of missing ballot papers.
I recall reading they said if you've an email address on file they will do it digitally only (!!!). I wonder how many of these missing ballots are old folk who don't realise it has been mailed to them or even, far worse, wrong email addresses on file.

Queen Victoria was your golden age.

I was speaking of modern Britain.
But even extending it out... The victorian age was not a great time to be alive.

[Eddie Teach]

It seems a much more optimistic era than today.

[Sheilbh]

On the leadership election, apparently there's a lot of complaints of missing ballot papers.
I recall reading they said if you've an email address on file they will do it digitally only (!!!). I wonder how many of these missing ballots are old folk who don't realise it has been mailed to them or even, far worse, wrong email addresses on file.

Interesting - I hadn't received mine and was beginning to wonder.