You can grieve over the bodies, the coffins, the funeral rites, but the worst aftermath of death is the autopsy. Who, or what, was to blame?
Focus groups at the start of the campaign were clear. The electorate wanted to blame the sufferings of the country on one thing: 14 years of Tory rule. In Scotland it passed a similar judgment on nationalist rule. Polls showed that Labour’s leader, Keir Starmer, was not especially popular, and his policies did not diverge widely from those of the government. That is why his lectern was decked with one message: “Change”. With that, at least, the electors agreed.
For the Tories now to blame Rishi Sunak for losing an election he never had a hope of winning is pointless. Yes, he called the election too early. Yes, he should have honoured D-day. Yes, the country’s public services are a mess. Indeed, a Tory strategist could even take modest comfort from Labour winning just a third of the popular vote, only about two points more than Jeremy Corbyn garnered when losing to Boris Johnson in 2019. On past form that should have ensured at least a hung parliament. But the Tory vote collapsed. Despite........