This extraordinary leaflet did not help the Conservatives in the Hampstead Town ward by-election yesterday.
The seat was gained for the Liberal Democrats by Linda Chung and we send her our congratulations.
But it does tell you what Conservative voters had been saying about Boris Johnson on the doorstep.
In May the Hampstead Town ward had elected one Labour and one Conservative councillor to Camden Borough Council.
But the Labour one had been a paper candidate and had already accepted a job elsewhere in the country when he was woken in the small hours to be told he had been elected. Hence his swift resignation and yesterday's contest - Andrew Teale has the full story.
There should have been a by-election in Rutland too yesterday, but the Liberal Democrat Raymond Payne had already been returned unopposed for Oakham South because the Conservatives couldn't find a candidate.
This is precisely the stuff our people should be making use of. Not "We need to increase foreign aid", but "Lib Dem triumph. Not one volunteer to stand for the Conservatives." The attack on the Conservatives rather than just Boris Johnson started much too late. We have a lot of catching up to do and we have to make an impact on people now.
ReplyDeleteIf we can't or don't strike while the iron is hot and keep it as a live issue in the public mind, we will not make the recovery we desperately need.