A leader who is reaching ALL of Britain

IN MODERN electoral politics, the wise person does not make predictions. The Prime Minister and her colleagues are sensible not to exult too much over last week’s local election results. There is still a very long way to go before the main event on June 8.

But that does not mean they – or we – can draw no conclusions from this large and interesting sample of national mood.

Perhaps most striking is the Tory revival in Scotland, in some cases spreading into areas that have been solid Labour for decades. Scots sick of Nicola Sturgeon’s triumphalist separatism have at last found a flag round which they can rally – the Tory banner, raised boldly by the remarkable Ruth Davidson.

After years in which the two main parties sought to tame the Nationalist dragon by feeding it new hunks of raw meat, a clear Unionist challenge has halted the SNP’s seemingly unstoppable progress. Ms Sturgeon’s hopes of a second referendum must have shrunk as she contemplated these results.

The change also has a UK-wide significance. The Labour Party is visibly dying. Jeremy Corbyn’s outdated, eccentric ultra-Leftism is assisting it to die, not reviving it. His only hope must be that the implosion of Ukip will bring some deserters back to his ranks. But will it?

Having once broken the tribal Labour habit, many more will be tempted by Theresa May’s carefully crafted appeal to the less well-off and by her unwavering commitment to implementing the referendum result, in which so many former Labour supporters backed Leave.

This suggests Mrs May’s policy of inclusive moderation is working well. Her only real challenge comes from a Lib Dem revival in the South-East of England, fuelled by Remain voters who want to keep Brexit as soft as possible. This danger can be contained by continuing with the policy of seeking to represent the fears and concerns of those who – like this newspaper – supported Remain but accept the democratic will of the referendum.

So far, so good. Theresa May’s modest, moderate but tough Tories are already reaching parts of the country that her predecessors never touched. But this is still no time for complacency.