It’s becoming like a bad joke.
Last year, in a landmark general election the Conservatives won an overwhelming majority despite running a campaign characterised by lying, cheating and completely evading scrutiny.
They dodged key interviews and debates, posted doctored videos and edited one of their social media accounts to make it appear to be a ‘fact-checking’ service.
At one point Boris Johnson hid in a fridge, for God’s sake, and yet he was still viewed by most as a Prime Minister in waiting.
Carry on
The result of the election is impossible to ignore. As Keir Starmer said today, “you can’t lose an election as badly as we did in December and carry on as if everything is fine”.
But what is deeply concerning to me is just how low the Conservative party has to stoop before the public loses confidence in their ability.
According to the latest polls, conducted in the same week it was revealed the UK has suffered both the largest recession of any G7 country as well as the highest excess death rate in Europe, the Tories still hold a commanding lead over Labour, and would probably be voted in again if there was an election tomorrow.
This, on the back of an education crisis, a health crisis, a public funds crisis – even a rape crisis.
So what do people see?
Stockholm Syndrome
My guess is that vast swathes of the public are suffering from a mild form of Stockholm Syndrome in which they have developed a sort of psychological alliance with their captive party.
Symptoms such as confusion, delusion and a lack of feeling are becoming increasingly prevalent – as demonstrated by migrant polling this week – and there is a clear unwillingness to embrace even the most indisputable facts.
Brexit – as one of its key instigators admitted this week – has been proven to be a disaster, and we can expect another severe dose of delusion to be administered at the end of the year when the proverbial excrement really hits the fan.
But one does wonder how bad things really have to get before people snap out of their trance.
Related: This is no migrant crisis – in Britain, there never was one