Two extreme leaders. No, I am not talking about Johnson sitting next to Trump* at the UN, treating the abeyance of law as an inconvenience, but Johnson versus Corbyn. More about Corbyn’s Labour Party later.

First, the extraordinary situation of the Government’s proroguing of Parliament being declared illegal, unanimously, by our entirely objective Supreme Court. It is without precedent. Brexit was about ‘taking back control of our own laws’. Well that has happened with a vengeance. Hurrah.

Johnson, led by his out of control adviser, Dominic Cummings, has disgraced his office. His actions have been entirely un-Conservative. Whilst this ruling does not resolve Brexit, a scorched earth policy of driving Brexit through by 31st October is unravelling. Too many mistakes, too quickly. He should resign and be replaced by a moderate, caretaker Conservative leader who seeks cross party consensus on a way out of the Brexit impasse, offering the electorate a series of options to be voted on by order of preference. That new leader should, in the process, also start to rebuild the Conservative Party on the centre-right ground.

Stage left, so to speak, we then have the disastrous Labour Party’s conference which has already been largely forgotten. That is a shame. It began with an attempt to abolish the role of Deputy Leader because the holder, Tom Watson, disagreed with the Leader. Then a series of far left policies; a stubbornly chaotic approach to Brexit, reckless spending, confiscation of company shareholdings, the abolition of private education, wasteful free prescriptions for all, a four day working week. One could go on. The whole conduct of the conference was, well, very Animal Farm.

The two major parties, always a coalition of views, have lost their way. They have moved to the extreme Right and Left, and if they are to survive in their current form need to reform, starting with a review of their membership to remove the influence of infiltrators.

Today, the moderate LibDems look good; largely moderate, reforming and with a crystal clear policy on Brexit. They may not triumph whenever there is a general election, but they deserve to do very well. They are streets ahead in terms of balance and focus.

In a period of chaos, we should pause for a moment and praise our Supreme Court; smart, rational and objective when our politicians are anything but. Lady Hale, the president, was majestic. Her spider brooch worn during her judgement has apparently being turned into a T-shirt. Over 2000 have already been sold in aid of cancer research. You should buy one whilst stocks last as a souvenir of the defence of democracy in momentous times…

*Donald Trump looked very rattled yesterday. Perhaps he is unwell but his exceptionally orange, tired appearance at the UN sat next to Johnson made uncomfortable watching. Two men under immense pressure, with at least one facing impeachment…

In sunny Bournemouth earlier this week for the LibDem annual conference, testing the health of centre ground politics in the UK. You will be pleased to know it is alive and kicking but, my, is it exhausting! The LibDems hold the only truly democratic conference of the major parties. There are motions and amendments on all sorts of issues. All debated in minute detail by people who, with their rucksacks and casual dress, often look like renegades from Glastonbury.

But the delegates are earnest and mostly nice, campaigning fanatics who are incredibly valuable to the British political process, and not to be dismissed. They are making their mark and are resilient to past near wipe outs.

Then there are the newbies at the conference. The number of LibDem MPs has swollen to 18 with defections from both the Tory and Labour parties and there are some real stars among the new intake. Chuka Umunna is immensely impressive and spoke with real charisma. You can see why the new LibDem leader, Jo Swinson, is so pleased to have him, sprinkling stardust everywhere and taking the pressure off her always to perform. He could be leader one day.

For the Tories, Sarah Wollaston also spoke well, and both seem at home in their new party.

And now to Brexit…To date, this is the sole reason for the rejuvenation of the LibDems and quite right too with their firmly pro-EU stance. Their new policy of simply cancelling Brexit if they win a General Election is also smart politics regardless of some doubts that it trashes the last referendum result. The policy is crystal clear and creates a sharp definition to Labour’s woolly stance. Those voting LibDem for the first time at the next election will do so for one reason and one reason only; to stop Brexit. You might as well be ruthless about it.

For the LibDems to make ground-breaking progress, however, they need to have simple, attractive policies beyond Brexit and those should not just be about ‘re purposing capitalism’ and constitutional reform as advocated by the rather self-satisfied political economist, Will Hutton, at fringe meetings. They need tougher, quick win economic policies. They also need to fully recover from the trauma of being in a perfectly good coalition with the Tories under Cameron if they are going to provide a true safe haven for those on the centre-right ground.

Politics in the UK is broken. You only have to witness the Government before our Supreme Court justifying the suspension of parliament to know this. Against this backdrop, the success of the LibDems is refreshing and needed and Jo Swinson has made a solid start. But for many of those who have loyally supported other parties, in my case the Tories, beyond being a home for tactical voting on Brexit, I am not sure. The jury is still out…

What a couple of weeks! When Johnson became PM, political life was always going to become more colourful but, looking like a set from a Tarantino film, it may be too much even for him…

The strategy of Cummings (Johnson’s senior adviser and the real driver of events) and Johnson was always to enact a scorched earth policy to ensure EU departure by 31st October. With total contempt for the Tory Party and Parliament, Cummings’ aim was to move the Tories and the political agenda to a hard Brexit versus Remain, accuse Parliament of betraying the people and crush the Brexit Party on the way to a famous General Election victory. Grassroots Tories mostly like this even though it was too much for 21 Tory MPs, expelled from the Party for voting against their own government. Other moderates are feeling distinctly queasy.

So how has this strategy fared? On the upside for the hard Brexiteers, Johnson’s brutal approach at least smacks of some leadership and he polls far more strongly than Corbyn. Overall opinion poll ratings have held up and there is a glimmer of hope that a General Election victory may just be possible. The good news, however, stops there.

The danger with a deliberately provocative approach is that it is high risk and makes governing more vulnerable to unexpected ‘events’ and, my, has there been an avalanche of these.

Let’s just run through a few. Ruth Davidson, the moderate, hugely popular Scottish Tory leader, resigns putting probably 10 Scottish Tory seats at risk. Then, incredibly, Johnson’s own brother resigns citing a conflict between the national interest and family. Less of an impact, but still damaging, Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, resigns out of the blue outraged at the expulsion of 21 colleagues. Proroguing Parliament for an extended period ‘whips up’ determined opposition to Johnson’s team and boosts extensive cross-party cooperation. Rees Mogg, Leader of the House of Commons, and Cummings’ consistent goading of moderate Tory MPs has also made the Tory moderates’ rebellion worse.

The consequences? There will now be no General Election in October; Johnson is humiliatingly instructed to seek a deal with the EU or extend membership until end January and is now also forced to publish private communications on the real reasons for proroguing parliament.

Lastly, Speaker Bercow has the last laugh by resigning in this parliament, almost certainly guaranteeing the next Speaker will be a Remainer.

I doubt much of this appeared in Cummings’ play book…The problem with a highly aggressive strategy in a political system of unwritten checks and balances is that it can run out of control, stoking overwhelming hostility and surprising barriers to progress. It is a thrilling ride but not good politics if the end goal is more difficult to achieve. That is what has happened.

In reality, despite all the brave words from Johnson’s camp, it is now hard for the Tories to win a no-deal General Election. Their own internal polling confirms this. The loss of seats to the SNP in Scotland and to the Liberal Democrats in the South, exacerbated by events, means significant Labour seats in the North would have to fall to Johnson. The danger is that Brexit supporting Labour voters won’t just vote on Brexit. Economics matters, hence the recent announcements of a Tory spending splurge, but it is unlikely to be enough.

A possible humiliating and dangerous deal with Farage is an option but Johnson has set himself against this. Farage is loathed more than anyone by Cummings (does he like anybody?) and his whole strategy is designed to take him out.

Oh dear. That leaves a deal with the EU as the only viable option for a Tory victory in a likely November General Election. Watch this space for concessions on the Irish backstop…

Most people don’t believe him. Whether it be some of the finest minds in the Conservative Party until they were booted out yesterday, the Opposition or a majority of the electorate.

And with good reason. Johnson prevaricated on which side of the Brexit debate to support in the Referendum. Many people suspect he went for Leave because it was the best route to become Prime Minister. Then there were those untruths about NHS spending on the side of that bus…

Wind on and Johnson is Prime Minister with more dissembling on a daily basis. He doesn’t want a General Election (yes, he does); he wants a EU deal (no, he doesn’t); proroguing parliament is about preparing for the Queen’s Speech (no, it isn’t) etc, etc.

It has, until yesterday, been a carefully staged run up to a No Deal General Election, orchestrated by Dominic Cummings. Cummings, for those not in the know, was the architect of Brexit; often described as a sociopath and anarchist who may not even be a member of the Conservative Party.

But the wheels have just come off the bus, so to speak. Johnson has been rumbled by too many people and his shocking action of withdrawing the whip from leading Conservatives, several of whom were in the Government only a few weeks ago, was the last straw.

So what happens next? Parliament will probably vote later today to prevent a No Deal Brexit. Johnson will try and call a highly divisive General Election on the basis of People versus Parliament for mid-October with the aim of leaving with No Deal. The Opposition would be very wise to try and delay an election until after 31st October, aiming to stay within the EU until a General Election later in the Autumn.

Of course Johnson’s gamble may work whether a General Election is called sooner or later. He could see off Labour and the Brexit Party on the back of an electorate heartily sick of the whole Brexit impasse. But his actions are reckless and divisive.

Johnson is destroying the Conservative Party and possibly the country and our unwritten constitution in the process. He should be held to account for every one of the dissembling statements he has made and the Tories need to look into the abyss and head to the centre ground with fresh leadership. There lies the long term solution to the country’s troubles.

The problem is that we need to get through the next few weeks/months and it could all be very messy indeed.

How could he? The whole Brexit premise was founded on ‘take back control’ and restoration of parliamentary sovereignty and what does Johnson do? He and his supplicant ministers agree to suspend parliament for fear of being forced into an about turn on a no deal Brexit. Parliamentary democracy crushed temporarily in one fell swoop. Shocking in its brutality.

Responses confirm this and we now have a country at war with itself politically. In addition to the predictable howls of anger from the opposition parties, the Speaker, John Bercow, and Lord Heseltine, the former Tory Deputy PM, call it a ‘constitutional outrage’; John Major, the former Tory PM, seeks advice on the legality of this action to prorogue parliament; Philip Hammond, the Chancellor in Theresa May’s government, calls it ‘profoundly undemocratic’ and Dominic Grieve, the former Tory Attorney General, is ‘working like wildfire’ to block the government’s move.

The lunatics are in charge of the Tory asylum and, if there was no doubt, the fantastic leader of the Scottish Tories, Ruth Davidson, is quitting. She rejuvenated the Party north of the border with a punchy, down to earth, moderate version of Toryism. She has been rewarded by being sidelined. Davidson will probably cite personal as well as political reasons for departing but we suspect the real reason. She cannot stomach the direction of her Party.

And yet Johnson may win his battle. His determination to achieve the goal of leaving the EU at any cost by 31st October is a wonder to behold. He has deliberately ensured he has no other option. It is ‘do or die’ and the power of incumbency is finally being exercised effectively. But it is a Corbynite Labour Party in particular, and a fractious, mediocre opposition in general, who are his greatest allies. Together, they are not a credible alternative government with no reassuring consensus on how to manage the current Brexit impasse.

The country just wants Brexit done and, in frustration, may temporarily shut its eyes to the longer-term consequences of a disastrous EU departure and the trashing of our unwritten constitution. With an additional sweetener of a spending splurge on police, the NHS and education, Johnson may just rush first over the finishing line in the almost certain imminent General Election. He has seized the initiative.

And yet… Johnson’s strategy is incredibly high risk and unexpected events could easily derail his plans. The departure of Ruth Davidson is the first of these and has started to change the odds on a General Election victory. It is a bitter blow. Can the Tories really win an election with resurgent Liberal Democrats taking southern seats and the post Davidson Party now to be humiliated in Scotland? We could be talking about a loss of 70 seats.

The longer-term price of Johnson’s actions is huge, not least, as I have written before, the destruction of the Conservative Party as we know it. But these issues are for another day. Let’s hope Johnson’s fortunes deteriorate and he receives a bloody nose for his cavalier actions in the coming weeks. The country will not regret it.

Back from holiday to find Johnson running rampant. A joy! He has the initiative and is making the most of it. This Tory revolutionary, fuelled by Dominic Cummings, is sprinting to the Brexit finish line knowing that departure on 31st October is what predominantly defines him. But he has been active in other areas too: more police on the beat; more money for NHS building works; more jails; more stop and search; more populism generally.

This signals an imminent General Election. Johnson can’t govern without leaving the EU, and he can’t allow Parliament and the best endeavours of the former Tory Chancellor to stop him. He also can’t govern with a majority of one and he can’t govern without his own mandate. He is openly goading the EU, the Opposition and journalists to dare him to call an election. They are falling into his trap nicely. He sees a window of opportunity now to see off the Brexit Party and to see off Labour, led by Corbyn, all before the disaster of a no-deal Brexit bites. On current showing he may well win and the Tory Party as we know it, along with the fortunes of the country, will be destroyed in the process. Hey ho. Who cares as long as Johnson and his vanity project continues.

But…but…there are two ways to block this British version of Trump:

Dump Corbyn

Labour are disastrously led. Their finest MPs languish on the backbenches, refusing to serve under him. The Party equivocates over Brexit, is mired in anti-Semitism allegations, and can’t even align its stance on a second Scottish independence referendum with the leader of the Scottish Labour Party. 45,000 members have departed in the past year. Corbyn is extreme, tired and useless. Johnson is running rings round him. But imagine if he departs to be replaced by Keir Starmer, say. All the above would be reversed. The Tories would panic as Labour fortunes are revived and all bets would be off on a snap Tory General Election victory.

The Liberal Democrats can’t just be about Brexit

The Lib Dem focus on Remain has been admirable and has helped restore their fortunes. But it is not enough. Even Johnson realises he can’t rely simply on the Brexit debate to propel him to election victory. The Lib Dems need coherent economic policies that are business and voter friendly and they need them fast. They need clearly articulated stances on the NHS, social care, law and order. They need a centrist philosophy that preserves the best of the former Tory/Lib Dem alliance; which stops them being portrayed as allies of the Left and the loony tunes, for example, coming out of the Green Party.

Of course the above is unlikely to happen. Labour has a long history of sticking with losing leaders and Corbyn has entrenched his uniquely awful, second rate Marxism, in the Party hierarchy (ex his MPs). The Lib Dems probably don’t have the time to flesh out new policies under a new leader in the face of a snap election or, if they do, may not have the appetite to fill the centre ground satisfactorily.

I hope I am proven wrong but today, with a very, very heavy heart, it seems Johnson may prevail.

Some of these blogs have been described as relentlessly gloomy so as the sun shines and the bags are packed for the summer holidays, it feels the right time to at least start with a few of the better current aspects of life in the UK.

First, the cricket. At the weekend, in the most thrilling of World Cup finals, England won by pipping New Zealand at the post in what can only be described as the equivalent of a penalty shoot-out. Fantastic. 8 million people sat on the edge of their seats watching the drama unfold on terrestrial television. An unheard-of audience for cricket, particularly when it clashed with the Wimbledon Men’s Final. So the lesson is to move this sport back on to free-view television channels away from pay only channels. Cricket can then capitalise on the momentum of England’s win and regain the hearts of the British public permanently. And that is before the Ashes…

Taking pride in Pride. In all the talk of the xenophobic climate created by Brexit, and a harsher tone in public life generally, it is worth reminding ourselves that the UK is mostly a liberal, progressive country in the very best sense. 1.5 million people turned out for Gay Pride in London earlier this month and it was a brilliant and fun spectacle for people of all sexual orientations. The run-up to the event had hundreds of companies decorating their buildings with rainbow colours. Whilst there were some grumbles about commercial exploitation, it is worth reminding ourselves that there used to be nothing ‘commercial’ about supporting gay rights even 15-20 years ago and that to discriminate on any related grounds is not only illegal but actually not acceptable to the vast majority of the public. To add to this, Alan Turing, the brilliant World War II code-breaker who took his own life when faced with chemical castration to deal with his homosexuality, now adorns Britain’s new £50 note. How far we have come.

But then, sadly, it all seems a little tarnished by the display of British democracy on show over the summer. An electorate of just 160,000 unrepresentative Conservative Party members, who support anything from the death penalty to breaking up the Union for the sake of Brexit, get to choose our next PM. The choice is between two candidates prepared to wreak havoc on the British economy just to win the election. They have spent the savings from 10 years of austerity already through reckless promises given in dull, almost staged Party debates and Johnson, the way ahead front-runner, incredibly, also uses these occasions to threaten to suspend Parliament to get a no-deal through. Wasn’t the Brexit vote about ‘taking back control’ from the EU through re-establishing the primacy of parliamentary democracy?

So time to leave the country for a while and head to good old France. They might not get cricket or put on a Pride celebration like London but, with all their revolutionary fervour, at least they are not tearing themselves apart over leaving the EU. And, in a reversal of the usual pattern of history, the English Channel from the opposite side, offers at least temporary respite from the fun and frolics of English excess that is likely to be Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Happy Summer Holidays!

Extraordinary…

Let’s start with the Tories. Boris Johnson is proving to be one of the most divisive PMs in modern history and that is before he has even taken office. The former Tory PM, John Major, threatens to take the Government, run by his own party, to court if it tries to suspend parliament to deliver Brexit. Johnson won’t rule this out.

Then we have ‘Ambassadorgate’. Britain’s Ambassador to the US is forced to resign in the face of a bullying, out-of-control President. Trump refuses to do business with him after the leaking of ‘diplomatic’ intelligence giving a frank assessment of the incompetence of the Trump Administration. Sir Kim Darroch could have clung on had Johnson chosen to back him in a leadership debate. He didn’t and, as the next UK PM, that made Darroch’s position untenable, hence his departure. In a breath-taking interview, a serving British Foreign Office minister calls Johnson’s actions ‘contemptible’, accusing him of having ‘thrown our ambassador under a bus’. What is it about Johnson and buses?

Equally incredible, the current PM, Theresa May, is threatening to appoint a US ambassador before Johnson takes office, in turn facing attacks from Johnson’s supporters who claim it is a deliberate sabotage of his approach to US/UK relations.

All of this will have no impact on the Tory leadership battle of course. The Tory membership is overwhelmingly white, male and ‘older’; in favour of hanging, Farage and breaking up the Union to achieve Brexit if necessary. Like Trump, any scandal washes off Johnson…for now…and he will become the PM the week after next.

And whatever his detractors say, Johnson is no buffoon. He is a dissembler, an embracer of the far-right when it suits him, and ruthless. With no political principles and a chaotic private life (no moral judgement here but where will he find the time to stay on top of the detail…?), he will go to any lengths to gain and hold power, possibly destroying many unwritten constitutional principles in the process. He will embrace Trump along the way and will move the Tories, at least in appearance, to the Alt. right. In fact many Tory MPs think he will blow up in office quite quickly; but are banking on him getting them through Brexit first. Oh dear…

Now to the Labour Party. Destroyed by a BBC documentary yesterday on anti-Semitism, it is over for Corbyn who is allegedly not in good health anyway. Split on Brexit, essentially Marxist in all but name, riven by factions and with most able Labour MPs refusing to serve on the front bench, they are offering no opposition to the chaotic Tories.

The future? The best is that Johnson negotiates an amended Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. Unlikely. The most favoured option is that in the face of an intransigent EU and with no parliamentary majority, Johnson calls a snap General Election on a manifesto of a hard, no-deal Brexit. The hope is that this achieves victory by absorbing Brexit Party support. The alternative is a Labour, LibDem, nationalist parties coalition limping on to a second General Election, suspending Article 50 in the process and splitting the country. Yuk!

There seems no optimistic way forward and the focus might as well be on enjoying the summer holidays, preferably at a safe distance from the imploding political system back at home.

Away from the grim tedium of British politics and its cadre of self-serving politicians, two reports this week merit some observations on the health of the planet.

THE BBC ran a clip on the Amazon rain forest highlighting the pace of its destruction. Under the stewardship of the populist, President Bolsonaro, who believes the rights of farmers ‘trump’ environmental concerns, destruction of the Brazilian rain forest incredibly is speeding up. One football-pitch sized piece of rain forest is being destroyed every 60 seconds with all the threats to indigenous populations and wildlife that brings. That is before we consider that the Brazilian rain forest currently absorbs 20% of the world’s carbon dioxide.

At the same time, a piece of analysis from the shrewd Gideon Rachman in this week’s FT about ‘the perilous politics of climate change’ appeared. In Australia, amid unprecedented high temperatures and drought, a conservative coalition intent on embracing fossil fuels won a surprise election victory. As Rachman suggests, when you take the US into consideration too, there are ‘important and potentially discouraging lessons for climate campaigners’. Politicians advocating radical actions to tackle climate change are at risk of electoral defeat if it is perceived to hit living standards.

Climate change and protection of the planet are key concerns of a good part of the electorate. It is now high up in the list of concerns of the investment community as it embraces Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policies. It is apparently ranked as the top issue by US Democrats. The Green Party surges across Europe. Then David Attenborough makes a guest appearance at Glastonbury to wild cheers, not heard since the appearance of Jeremy Corbyn…umm…

More needs to be done to allow climate change and environmental concerns to overcome populism and define election results, however. It cannot be an issue simply of the wealthy and better educated. Or left to Extinction Rebellion blocking roads in London.

Which takes us to a second article in the FT. Yesterday, one by an equally shrewd Martin Wolf, outlined the causal link between liberalism and stronger economic performance. Societies that embrace economic and political rights guarded by independent legal systems are wealthier. Those that do not are not. Take Russia for example.

So combining liberalism with the case for tackling climate change both at a micro and macro level in language that wins over those who embrace populism might just work. That means not just lofty scientific reports by inter-governmental organisations (the ‘elites’) but explaining country by country, district by district, what it means for them. The cost of environmental disaster versus a vibrant green technology industry creating jobs and wealth for everybody. You have coherent debate backed by facts in a liberal setting applicable to all voters.

Actually, the UK is getting quite good at this as it seeks to become carbon neutral by 2050. Even on the Right of the political spectrum, May and Gove, sometimes offset sadly by the lovely populist, Johnson, are good advocates of the benefits of liberalism and environmental considerations.

So, imagine a world where coherent policies on the environment determine most election results. Where liberalism dominates populism on this topic through open, fact-based debate because it is couched in terms everyone can understand and benefit from. A world where David Attenborough is listened to by everybody. Now there is a goal to aim for and, to use an unfortunate analogy in this context, ‘kills two birds with one stone’…

Lunching with a senior journalist this week, he professed optimism about British politics. As I recovered from my choking spasm and incredulously asked why, he spoke warmly about the destruction of the two-party political system and coalition politics becoming a permanent feature in the UK. He may well be right. All very German, Italian, Dutch…etc.

This unplanned consequence of Brexit is, with a little concentration, easy to understand. The Tories and Labour are moving to the extremes, the latter under Corbyn, the former under the soon to be anointed Johnson. These two great parties used to contain a spectrum of views. Big tent politics if you like. But no longer. Both are looking at deselecting MPs who don’t fully embrace socialism/Marxism or Brexit. It is scandalous, a tragedy, but it will usher in a new form of politics which may justify that journalist’s optimism; coalition politics embracing moderates from all sides. After all, many argue the 2010-2015 Tory/Lib Dem coalition worked. Fiscally conservative, socially liberal and pro-Europe.

The move of Corbyn’s Labour Party to the far left has been well documented but what about the Tory Party? The Tory membership has apparently grown from c120,000 to c160,000 with new members who joined up to 3 months ago being allowed to vote in the current leadership contest. Since Theresa May’s departure has been well trailed for at least the past 12 months, it was always easy, particularly with help from the lovely rich activist, Arron Banks, for former UKIP members to infiltrate the Tories and tilt it further in a purist Brexit direction.

Johnson will become the Tories’ leader and Prime Minister, barring any further serious mishaps, on a hard Brexit agenda – and he is setting the 31st October date to leave the EU in stone, deal or no deal. He has said that he cannot countenance any opposition to this stance from within his Cabinet, so no room for moderates then. There is also an active campaign in place to deselect those dozen or so highly pro-Remain Tory MPs, again with the help of Arron Banks. The Tories are increasingly becoming a populist, right-wing Brexit party in all but name.

Even when it comes to broader issues such as tax, cuts have been mooted for the rich, as austerity and the broader health of the economy are sacrificed on the altar of leadership ambition. To be fair to Johnson, at least he is a social liberal, but Brexit is the defining issue of the day and it will stain the Tory Party for a generation.

So, how will all this play out? The Liberal Democrats are soaring, and the Greens are prospering too. The nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales are also getting a boost. Labour may change leader (Tom Watson?) or split. A snap General Election in the face of EU ‘intransigence’ at failing to re-open the Withdrawal Agreement may allow the Tories to absorb a good proportion of the current Brexit Party’s support but a parliamentary majority? Hardly likely in the ensuing chaos.

Strikes me that we may be in for a long period of coalition politics. Neither the Labour or Conservative parties will attract enough support from their increasingly narrow electoral bases to command a parliamentary majority on their own, possibly for a generation. It is exactly what they deserve.