Corbyn taking some consolation from by-election result

Even Labour can’t really claim this win represented a momentous shift in the political landscape. Can it?

Labour certainly has its problems and the forthcoming leadership election looks unlikely to heal the many rifts within the party. But Jeremy Corbyn, not always the sunniest of characters, is upbeat about its electoral fortunes.

Everyone else may think the party is on the slide but not its leader. On what grounds, you may well ask?

Well, it recently took a seat on Ramsgate Town Council in a by-election where it emerged victorious in a two-way battle with Ukip.

So impressed was Mr Corbyn that he gave it a special mention when he launched his leadership campaign recently.

He berated the media for overlooking this important breakthrough – saying: “You won’t have read about it in any of the papers because none of them had any space to carry it whatsoever.”

When you are down on your uppers, you do take consolation in small things. But even Labour can’t really claim this win represented a momentous shift in the political landscape. Can it?

There has been the standard blame game after thousands of motorists were delayed for up to 10 hours trying to cross the channel at Dover.

MP Charlie Elphick said it was the government’s fault.

The boss of P&O ferries blamed the failure of the French authorities to provide enough border control staff.

As did Highways England. Kent crime commissioner Matthew Scott, meanwhile, took Highways England to task.

The new transport secretary Chris Grayling hasn’t ventured an opinion yet, but we suspect that he will direct his criticism in the direction of France.

It seems the government is digging in for a lengthy tussle over the plan for a huge lorry park off the M20 to deal with Operation Stack.

But will a round-the-clock permanent commercial lorry park come first?

The Department for Transport hints that it is exploring the option as it “has the potential to provide revenue that could offset some of the construction and operation costs”.

Although we shouldn’t forget the government has already allocated the not insignificant sum of £250m to cover the costs.

The former Ukip party leader Nigel Farage has disappointingly ruled out appearing in the next series of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. Shame. Off The Record knows that there are people who would pay good money to see how he would fare in the programme’s infamous Bushtucker trials.

Off The Record is taking a short summer break but will be back in a few weeks