Burnham's by-election

Watching Burnham’s by-election purely as a spectator, I have no feel whatever for what’s happening on the ground (rarely do the pundits either, these days).  But one or two things stand out rather clearly: things that might not have been expected even just a month ago – which just goes to show.

>  Burnham makes a pretty unconvincing King Across the Water / saviour of the nation.  He comes across as an odd combination of entitled, nervous and petulant.  Is he simply going to win anyhow?  Who can judge?  Voters only make up their minds on vague feelings of what ‘seems right’.  

>  Restore looks distinctly as though it could upset Reform pretty badly.  I wouldn’t ordinarily cite Brendan O’Neill, and it’s larded with phrases I wouldn’t use, but this is a pertinent essay:  “the Your Party of the right” is spot on, as is “his bit-part role in the chronicles of our times will be an entirely inglorious one“.

For me, both these thoughts have relegated another couple of potential talking-points, namely the embarrassment for the Greens over their initial nominee; and the chronic inability of Reform ever to find unexceptionable candidates (let alone exceptional) – even for high-profile set-pieces like this.  Think what it’ll be like for both these arriviste parties at the GE!

If Restore does indeed trip up Reform on this outing, I suppose it might just be the urgent incentive Farage needs to square Lowe away in good time before the next GE.  Otherwise he will be spending a lot more time with that £5m nest-egg.

Burnham, if it is indeed to be him this time, must I suppose be hoping that, once elected, Streeting will pull the trigger as promised.   But maybe he won’t!  And if not, can that obscure woman who threatened to do it a few weeks back really muster the numbers?  Would it look a bit off, if Burnham himself did it immediately following his victory?  What we may be 100% sure of is that Team Starmer will have been strenuously working over every single Labour backbencher with the usual unsavoury combination of menaces, promises and flattery.  It’s amazing how many of a list of 81 can quietly slip away in such circumstances.  Time is well and truly on Starmer’s side, given his clear determination to bluster on.

But then of course there’s Events … Mandy, Trump, who-knows-what.  Starmer already has a long list of self-serving one-liners to fend off both the ‘known unknowns’ on that little list; and we’ll be hearing a lot of them soon.  

A run on popcorn seems like a safe bet.  Anyone updating their January predictions on Starmer’s survival this year?

ND