The Tory result in Ealing Southall is a setback for David Cameron that ensures he will be on the back foot over the summer. To come a poor third after Cameron’s repeated visits to the seat is embarrassing and suggests that the Cameron message is not resonating as strongly as it should be.
Recriminations on the Tory side will be particularly bitter because Central Office played such a key role in Tony Lit being selected only for it to turn out that he had been happily hobnobbing with Tony Blair at a Labour fundraiser just the month before. Many in the Westminster Village see the failure to properly vet Lit as typical of the slightly slapdash nature of Cameronian decision making.
Over at Conservative Home, Tim Montgomerie asks some pertinent question about what happened in Ealing Southall. There is though, as he points out, a silver lining to the results for the Tories: the Lib Dems have done well enough that Ming Campbell will be staying in post.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in