Westminster has a special obsession with plumbers at the moment – and it is not just because the state of the toilets in the Houses of Parliament borders on the scandalous.
The victory of plumber Hannah Spencer for the Greens in the Gorton and Denton by-election, as well as the selection of Reform UK’s own ‘plucky plumber’ Robert Kenyon to fight Andy Burnham for the Makerfield seat, has brought a new appreciation for white van man and woman – the “real working people” Sir Keir Starmer is so fond of referencing.