'Frankly, the party whose campaign looks like it has been ambushed by this election was the one that called it.' Stephen Bush

'And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.'

The fact that we’re encouraged by a first-past-the-post bias of *only* 5% is exactly why we need proportional representation.

#GE2024

Superb instant summary from robert shrimsley ft.com/content/030a04… via @ft

'They're certain that they don’t need a bunch of people that they really, really do need to win. The Tories have reimagined the electorate as something they are manifestly not, obsessed with things that in actuality they don't care about.' Nick Tyrone open.substack.com/pub/nicktyrone…

Sunak is in a deeper hole than Corbyn was in 2019 kellnerpolitics.com/2024/05/23/sun…

Neat summary by Anna Gross of the questions many voters be asking themselves on 4 July, namely:
'Am I better off?'
'Can I see a doctor?'
'Is migration falling?'
'Can I afford to buy a house?'
ft.com/content/ddde63… via @ft

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Gullis eating soup with a fork. I watched Braverman try to deport a sofa. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain... Time to die.”

A bit of (ehem) light relief from the election madness.

terri?

In order for the election to stand any chance of being revoked, enough Conservative MPs would have to write to Sir Graham Brady, who would then have to decide whether or not to call a no confidence vote. And Rishi Sunak would then need to lose that vote. Seems... rather unlikely.

Can I borrow your cagoule?

As I write, this is at risk of being MASSIVELY overshadowed by events. But cabinet secretary Simon Case is meant to give evidence to #covidinquiry Thursday. Should have been last year but he was sick and only returned to work in January. Another long 🧵(sorry).

I well remember writing in our post mortem on the 2017 contest that, for the Tories, it was the election where everything that could go wrong *did* go wrong. But, even back then, they didn't go wrong on the very first day. Still, things can only get better, right?

Avec moi le deluge

Ouch.

“How shall we start the campaign?”

“Speech in the rain whilst Steve Bray plays the anthem that reminds people of Labour’s 1997 landslide.”

“OK. And in the evening?”

“Kick Sky out of your launch event but make sure they film it before you cut the line.”

Everyone talks about Portillo, but this was the defining moment of Election Night 1997 for me.
A BBC graphic showing Tories majorities being destroyed video game style and being replaced by Labour ones.
#GeneralElection

Chef's kiss.

I got a telling off from someone for this but, sorry, I feel surprisingly strongly about it. I know, of course, an announcement any day would have disrupted something or other. But today of all days? Just feels wrong. Not a political (or an academic) thing--purely personal/moral.