If some mechanism existed for bringing polling day forward to this coming Thursday, I wonder how many Conservative candidates would pull the lever, taking an electoral beating now that they must otherwise dread for another fortnight.
Plan A has failed, and there is no other. The prime minister hoped that polls would narrow in the campaign, as they often have done in the past. Labour would be spooked. A Conservative comeback would gain momentum in the frenzy of Fleet Street gratitude for a narrative twist and a competitive race. But hope is not a strategy.
