The Manchester murders have given British politics its first conspiracy theory with a grain of truth in it. It may sound ghoulish to discuss the political consequences of an atrocity. But terrorism is a political crime, and we are in a general election campaign. Everyone is thinking that the Manchester attack passes the advantage to Theresa May. Soon they will be saying it too.
It is easy to predict how the killings will be knitted into the left’s explanation for the defeat of 2017. Against the odds, Labour was doing well in the polls, Corbyn’s supporters will say. Why one survey had the opposition a mere nine points behind the Conservatives. (Others had it 14 points down, but trust me, they will be forgotten). The Labour manifesto was as well received as a free all-you-can-eat buffet at a party. Meanwhile, the Tories were in trouble. The truth about Theresa May began to emerge in the days before the attack.
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