The only consolation for Rishi Sunak today is that things could have been even worse. Instead of losing two of three by-elections by historic margins to Labour and the Lib-Dems, he could easily have lost all three. And if it weren’t for the issue of Ulez in Uxbridge he probably would have.
The three constituencies demonstrated that there is no area in England that the Tories might not lose — not the old Lib-Dem strongholds of the south-west, in Somerton and Frome, not the north of England, as in Selby and Ainsty (right next to the PM’s Richmond constituency), and certainly not London. Granted, in Somerton there was the aggravating factor that the sitting MP had resigned after allegations of drug abuse, but that alone does not account for the swing. And there is no extenuating factor to explain the 23.7 swing to Labour in Yorkshire. If that were replicated nationwide in a general election, Labour could gain a bigger majority than Tony Blair in 1997. And if we add to this the dismal showing of the SNP in Scotland under Humza Yousaf, Labour’s prospects at the next election look very bright indeed.
But there are lessons for Labour and for the Mayor, Sadiq Khan, from the Tories’ exiguous victory in Uxbridge. It was a single-issue victory, and the issue was Ulez (which this paper has supported). It goes to show that there is real antagonism to the charge which voters feel sufficiently strongly to register at the polls. But the real lesson is for the Tories: whatever they’re doing isn’t working.
Justice denied
THE Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett, got to the heart of the problem with the criminal justice system in his address to the House of Lords last month. The Government, he said, was treating it as just another service and it is not. “It is something that underpins everything that goes on in society.” By that reckoning we are in trouble. As we report today, there is a backlog of almost 63,000 crown court cases, of which over 16,000 are in London and 2,210 are rape cases. It takes on average 653 days for a case to go from first report to final verdict in London, and three years for rape. How, in heaven’s name, can we expect anyone to be able to provide honest evidence so long after an alleged offence? Can we be surprised that so many women withdraw allegations of rape rather than put their lives on hold for so long? The criminal justice system is broken. The Government must act. Now.
Go for it, Lionesses
THE Lionesses are almost there. Tomorrow’s match against Haiti should be an easy win, but the nation will still be on tenterhooks. Anything could happen in this tournament but it could be England’s year. Roar them on.
