The narrative shifted just as expected following the local elections. We moved sharply from “Sunak comeback” to “Labour is not on track for a majority”. The Tory-friendly media, una...
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The narrative shifted just as expected following the local elections. We moved sharply from “Sunak comeback” to “Labour is not on track for a majority”. The Tory-friendly media, unable to sustain the position that the Conservatives might win another term, returned to the “coalition of chaos” concept that they used in 2015 against Ed Miliband.
The Mail on Sunday, never overly worried about subtlety, blared: “The nightmare is looming of Starmer as a marionette PM dancing a maniacal jig to the tune played by an unholy alliance of Scottish Nats and Corbynites”. The Sun went for: “Labour and Lib Dems hint at ‘dirty’ backroom deal to install Sir Keir Starmer as PM in coalition of chaos”. Not to be outdone the Telegraph told us: “The spectre of a Labour ‘coalition of chaos’ is once again haunting Westminster. It will terrify voters.”
In last week’s post I explained why it’s a misreading of the local election results to think they showed that a hung parliament is likely, despite Labour’s 16 point national poll lead. By far the most important takeaway was the increased efficiency of Labour and Lib Dem votes which spells deep trouble for the Tories. (See for instance this bit of data analysis from Lewis Baston, this post from Ben Ansell, this one from Ben Walker, and this from Stephen Fisher).
