Matthew Parris Matthew Parris

What is there left to say about the Tories?

issue 13 April 2024

Spare a thought for us political commentators. We stare into the void between now and a (presumed) decisive Labour victory in a (presumed) autumn general election, haunted by the need to say something significant on a weekly basis at least. Yet there seems so little left to say.

Readers don’t need to be told that the Tories are in an unholy mess, or that nobody likes them

Until recently we could perhaps speculate that the election might be next month but it’s surely too late now even for that surprise. So ‘autumn’, we say: no surprise there. We think we know the winner too: Labour, easily. I struggle with betting terminology but a glance at online odds suggests to me that if you bet £5 there’ll be an election in October-December 2024 and win, you’ll get £6 back. And if you bet successfully on the next prime minister you’d get £6 for every £5 you put on Keir Starmer.

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