The Henley by-election result is striking:
John Howell (Cons) 19,796
Stephen Kearney’s (Lib Dem) 9,680
Mark Stevenson (Green) 1,321
Timothy Rait (BNP) 1,243
Richard McKenzie (Lab) 1,066
Chris Adams (UKIP) 843
Admittedly, Labour didn’t run much of a campaign (and would like to have avoided even contesting the seat if they’d been able to) while the Lib Dems pressed them hard. But still… 3% of the vote? If John Major’s Tories had endured such a result, even in a Labour stronghold, you can imagine that the BBC would be full of chatter about how much longer Major could last and whether, in fact, the game wasn’t already up. Today? not so much…
And of course, it is for Brown. As the Telegraph reports, Brown has become an out of control sea anchor that risks sinking the entire government. Alas, there’s no easy way to cut him free either…
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