Hey, Labour voters: don't fight, you don't exist.

When the beginning, middle and end of your politics is Westminster, parliament, constituencies and parties then the key point emerging from Copeland is that 11,000 Labour voters in Copeland don't exist. I notice that bulletins and the comments programmes hardly ever mention the raw figure itself. It sounds irritatingly big, doesn't it, boys? It's as if they think that the best way to say what happened is 'Copeland became Tory'. The whole constituency is now Tory. That's why it's a 'disaster'. Beginning, middle and end of parliamentary politics.


Now let's suppose, there is going to be a battle over the closing of the local hospital in Copeland. Who is going to lead the fight against that? Who is going to be involved? Presumably, according to Westminster/parliament politics, no one. Copeland is Tory. There is no one in Copeland who disagrees with the Tories. There are no Labour-minded people who want to defend services. We get the message: there is no one left to fight. No, I've put that wrong: we get the message, there is no one left who should fight. Don't fight. You don't exist.