The British people are not fickle about their politics.
While almost every European country has undergone something like a revolution, with new parties and movements, over the past 20 years, English voters have remained largely loyal to their two big, old parties.
Things have been notably different in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the most populous part of the kingdom has generally kept hold of Tory or Labour loyalties stretching back for a century, especially in general elections.
Thursday’s local election voting suggests that this is now coming to an end.
Both Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch have much to worry about.
A general election fought with voters in this mood could leave them both in the dust.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has achieved far more than his previous movements, Ukip and the Brexit Party, could ever do.
So, are we on the brink of the sort of convulsions which have recently gripped France, Germany and Italy? It’s hard to say.
Is Labour becoming an urban rump of privileged graduates, cut off from its base? Increasingly. Will the Tories be swept away? Not necessarily.
The first-past-the-post voting system (which has often served this country well) puts pressure on rivals to form alliances before elections, rather than after them.
Nigel Farage ’s Reform UK has achieved far more than his previous movements, Ukip and the Brexit Party, could ever do. Pictured: Reform party leader Nigel Farage reacts as the party wins the Runcorn and Helsby by-election
Is Labour becoming an urban rump of privileged graduates, cut off from its base? Increasingly. Will the Tories be swept away? Not necessarily. Pictured: Nigel Farage poses for a picture with winnning candidate Sarah Pochin as Reform beats Labour by six votes to take Runcorn in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election
Both Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (pictured) have much to worry about
Mr Farage has shown in the past that he is ready to do deals with the Tories.
He did this in 2019 when he stood down Brexit Party candidates in Conservative-held seats, helping to give Boris Johnson the most convincing Tory majority since the Thatcher era.
The balance of power on the Right has shifted greatly since then, but can we see in this episode the faint shadow of a new and devastating political alliance? Let us watch carefully.
Send Letby case back to court
If we are serious about the punishment of crime, we have to be sure we are punishing the right person.
Long prison terms meet a reasonable public demand to see the criminal pay. They deter crime.
But what if an innocent person goes to jail? Imagine the horror of being locked up for years for a crime you did not commit.
A society in which such miscarriages were ignored would not be safe or just.
The recent case of Andrew Malkinson, wrongly imprisoned for a rape he absolutely did not commit, is a distressing example.
Now there are growing concerns about the case of the former nurse Lucy Letby, 35, convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more.
Multiple whole-life orders imposed on her mean she will die in prison. But did she have a fair trial?
There are growing concerns about the case of the former nurse Lucy Letby (pictured), 35, convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more
The Mail on Sunday today publishes a summary of the many doubts about this case, the weakness (and absence) of evidence, the wrong conclusions drawn from statistics.
Some doubt that any crimes were committed at all.
Voices speaking out against the safety of the convictions now include the distinguished barrister Adam King and the retired Supreme Court Judge Lord Sumption.
This controversy has undoubtedly been distressing for the parents of those babies. This newspaper has the greatest sympathy with them.
But if an injustice has been done, then it must be righted. We do not say that Ms Letby is innocent.
What we do say is that there is now so much doubt, the Criminal Cases Review Commission should urgently refer the matter to the Court of Appeal.
