The king is dead. Long live the king. Not so much Labour electing a new leader, more a coronation. There were no surprises. No real drama. The deed had been done the moment Andy Burnham had won the Makerfield byelection. That was when Labour MPs switched off Keir Starmer’s life support machine.
Even Vladimir Putin would be moderately happy with a 379 to one victory. The only dissenting voice was Neil Coyle, who nominated Catherine West, saying there was “no more room up Andy’s arse”. There again, if Friday’s victory march was anything to go by, anything to do with Andy is a comfort blanket for Labour members to allow themselves the security of believing there may be hope after all.
