Harlow offers a rare bright spot for the Tories

It is a thankless morning for Tories on the media round. Faced with the loss of half of their council seats, ministers are resorting to the time-honoured tactic of talking up favourable results as offering useful national lessons. This trick was pioneered by Kenneth Baker, who as Mrs Thatcher’s party chair successfully sold the post-Poll Tax elections of 1990 as a good night, based on the exceptional results of Westminster and Wandsworth. This time, Harlow is CCHQ’s favourite local council, with the Tories winning 17 of the available 33 seats therem and Labour one shy on 16.

The outgoing MP Rob Halfon was quick to hail the result as the ‘biggest comeback since Lazarus’. He noted, with delight, how Sir Keir Starmer made several visits to the Essex area, while Angela Rayner had elsewhere declared that a win in Harlow would mean Labour are on the ‘path to power’.