Stephen Bush

Yeah, Richmond upon 10%.

And the Greens lost five.

Yeah, Sutton, where, again, you would really, if you're picking a place where the Lib Dems might get anxious where they have an MP about reform, that would be the, those would be the two most vulnerable seats would be the Sutton seat and the Carl Shelton and Wallington one.

They have really dug in the places they've won, which, I mean, this is, to return to my, the Conservative Party is wildly complacent about this election, right?

If the Lib Dems don't collapse, there is not a path to a Conservative majority.

Like, it just ain't going to happen.

And then they've done the, I remember one now, former Conservative MP, who talked about the problem with the Lib Dems is they like Japanese, not weed.

Unless you rip them out of the route when they get one ward, they take over the whole garden.

And they describe themselves as cockroaches, surviving nuclear wars.

And they have taken over the whole garden in quite large numbers of the seats that they won in 2024.

That is a positive result for them in terms of holding on to their 70.

Because they can hold on to those and then nick a couple of the places where they're second.

well, then we're in hung parliament territory and then they can get to what they see as their holy grail, both in electoral and moral terms, which is to change our electoral system.

Yeah, I mean, I think, as Jen said, and a very good piece for the Inside Politics newsletter, Andy doesn't have a machine behind him.

He's not someone who's ever been into the sort of fixing side of the Labour.

And because it's now so uncertain that he would win a by-election, his path back does sort of rely on some people going, oh, I'm going to immolate myself both with Keir Starmer and with any other possible leadership contender.

Because ultimately, Andy is the physical embodiment of none of the other leadership contenders will do.

And then what happens if having done this, having burned a huge amount of capital for Andy Burnham, what if he then loses in St.

Helens, loses in any of the other places he could go?

Then I've burnt myself up for nothing.