Labour win significant if not seismic

Sir Keir Starmer described the victory as a “seismic win” and claimed it was the most important result overnight.

He’s right. After all, this was a parliamentary election, and produced a damning verdict on Rishi Sunak and his government. Sir Keir Starmer is no Tony Blair. But there’s something of the late Labour leader John Smith about him: the lawyer’s forensic style and the values of decency and doing the right thing.

And Blackpool South, while the Tory majority was a modest hurdle compared with some of the massive majorities Labour has overturned in recent by-elections, is a significant step on his journey to Number 10.

(Jon Craig)