Feature Hutton.indd 33 25/04/2024 6:48 pm
© SHUTTERSTOCK, ALAMY
The shift in Britain’s political mood has been so sharp and sudden that both main parties are bewildered. Conservatives recall that it was only four years ago that Boris Johnson’s position as prime minister seemed unassailable: even two years ago they were level-pegging with their rival.
Can it really be true that they are hurtling towards electoral oblivion? Labour, for its part, is no less startled; under Jeremy Corbyn the party nearly split, and after the December 2019 general election—yet another electoral defeat and its worst since 1935—there seemed every chance that it had the same dismal future as the French socialists. It may now be criticised for its caution—but it is a caution framed by history.