This has been a big week in British politics. If that makes you fear you have missed something, don’t worry. You have not. For that is just the point. This was an important week for Boris Johnson’s government to start trying to regain control of the political agenda. But the Conservative effort has not got off to a good start. That failure matters, because it will shape our politics.
Within the next two years, there will be another general election. This month’s local elections confirmed that it will not be an easy one for the Tory party. The Tories lost seats to Labour and the Liberal Democrats and ceded hard-won ground in Scotland, Wales and England. Since it is likely to be the last one of substance in this parliament, the recent Queen’s speech needed to be focused on the general election. Yet it turned out to have very little focus at all.
