The Joy of Six 1353

Andrew Page draws some lessons from Mark Carney's victory: "What we saw in Canada is that, when political leaders focus on the issues voters care about, minds (and voting intentions) can be changed. It also became apparent that the populist tactics previously employed by the Conservatives ceased to work once the incumbent party found a way of reconnecting with the electorate." 

"The Conservatives are defending a high watermark, a freakishly good result for them in 2021 created by the short-lived vaccine bounce that put wind in their sails for a few months." Matthew Pennell previews tomorrow's local elections.

Commenting on the suicide of Virginia Giuffre, Emily Maitlis says "We have to believe women while they’re alive."

City Monitor asks why Britain has let trams fall by the wayside: "People won’t leave their cars at home until there is an efficient, reliable and comfortable alternative. Trams provide that alternative. No other form of public transport allows you to travel about town smoothly and quietly, doesn’t emit noxious exhaust fumes, doesn't need a parking space, runs so frequently that you don’t even need a timetable – and actually enhances the urban environment."

Johnny Meynell explodes a popular myth about the 1970 FA Cup final: "No show-jumping took place at Wembley Stadium in the days, weeks, or even nine months before Chelsea took on Leeds United for the right to lift the FA Cup on April 11."

"It’s a surprise to arrive in Bexhill, prepared to take a look at one of the most famous examples of English modernism, the De La Warr Pavilion, all white walls, glass and steel, and to encounter a group of buildings with a whiff of the Mughal empire about them." Philip Wilkinson visits the Sussex coast.