Rattling No 10’s gates as poisonous Boris Johnson’s baby Trump temper tantrum rams brawling Tories deeper into civil war with bewildered Rishi Sunak a weak and out of touch onlooker, this is the moment for Keir Starmer to clinch the Labour deal.
Paint in vivid, vibrant colours what Labour would do for the British people - £15 minimum wage, free school meals for all, NHS tonic, social care, job rights, whatever it takes? - and the red knight might be Prime Minister at the end of this year rather than next.
Because the country is crying out for change as collapsing Conservatives haemorrhage public support, slipping Sunak is unable to manage his disintegrating party, never mind govern a nation.
Survival is Sunak’s goal and it’s difficult to see how life will be better for him when the economy’s stuck in the slow lane and banging on about Channel crossings only reminds people he’s flopping.
Bitter, flailing, vengeful Johnson presenting himself as the victim of the worst miscarriage of justice in history, the Post Office Horizon IT scandal, Birmingham Six, Dreyfuss affair and Lindy Chamberlain all rolled into one rotund chap, is the warped fantasy of a narcissist whose signature Brexit folly is regretted by the electorate.
Triggering three tricky by-elections is Johnson’s gift to Starmer even if Uxbridge is the only seat Labour gains, Sunak forced to defend rather than attack.
Yet most significant is mounting evidence that both Sunak and Johnson are at odds with the country.
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Tory pollfather Michael Ashcroft’s latest research shows the issues that matter most to voters are the cost of living, NHS and social care, economy and jobs and climate change and the environment – all Labour issues – before we reach immigration, a Tory obsession and failure.
Starmer’s viewed as a stronger leader than Sunak, more honest and likely to get things done, cares most about people and has better judgement. Sunak has a slight lead representing the UK internationally after the PM’s Biden trip but that will win few votes.
Seize the moment, translating contempt for the Tories and a yearning for change into Labour support, and Starmer will be virtually home and dry.
That’s an incredible turnaround when he inherited from Jeremy Corbyn the fewest Labour MPs since 1935.
Win big or badly, that’s what is at stake for Labour. The Tories are too busy fighting each other to engage Labour.
