Starmer has a little breathing space after Batley and Spen. He must use it wisely | Jonathan Freedland

The byelection victory is a relief, but Labour’s bedrock is breaking across northern England and the Midlands

If part of the art of politics is expectation management, then Keir Starmer can consider himself an artist. Few in his own party or outside it expected the result that came close to dawn on Friday morning. On the contrary, Starmer’s internal opponents and would-be rivals took it as read that Labour would lose in Batley and Spen. On Thursday, allies of Angela Rayner were said to be preparing a leadership challenge, only weakly denied by the deputy leader herself. They will have to shelve those plans, at least for now.

That will bring relief for Starmer. A leader chosen chiefly for his presumed electability would have been imperilled by losing a second long-held Labour seat in as many months, with the sting of byelection defeat in Hartlepool still so fresh. But he is not the only one who should feel relieved.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2V2tKm7