The Nasty Party never went away but voters will never forget the brutal venom, backbiting and bad blood spilled in a filthy battle to be installed as Prime Minister without having to face a general election.
Fishy Rishi, Part-time Penny, Loopy Liz, Crazy Kemi and Prom Queen Tommy have yet to produce a decent idea between them but the Fatuous Five are supplying Labour with enough ammo to destroy whoever wins.
Every blue-on-blue attack is dutifully logged in an ever-expanding computer file, ready to fire insults back at whoever is parachuted into No 10 in September.
One of Keir Starmer’s team gleefully told me that the leader’s office initially feared that being squeezed out of newspapers and silenced on the airwaves could prove to be damaging for Labour.
Until they realised the festival of hate unfolding in the Conservative Party is a gift for Labour and a nightmare for the Tories.
“Accusations of treachery, deceit and idleness will live long in the memories of voters who’ll think twice before backing this shower,” he said with a grin.
“The only force uniting the Conservative Party at the moment is a loathing for colleagues.”
The sniping and sneering has undone David Cameron’s brand detoxification while Boris Johnson’s breathless, deceitful bonhomie wore thin months ago, as the ditched PM knows to his humiliating cost.
Opposition parties must be sure to appear ready to govern, both radical and reassuring.
Change is triggered when those in office lose touch – and their minds.
Starmer and Labour are already the clear winners from the Tory bile-fest.
Whoever the Conservative sect picks as their new leader will lack both a mandate and authority.
But they will have a target on their backs, a target painted on by their own spiteful rivals.
