An interesting piece here on Steve McCabe’s view of the Crewe & Nantwich by election. He was, of course, Labour’s campaign manager who came under a lot of flack.

He says “We set out to secure between 10,000-11,000 votes. Allowing for a turn out of around 35-40%, that was not unreasonable for a by-election. If there was no Liberal Democrat collapse, victory was possible, however unlikely.”

Alas turnout was nearly 58% and the Lib Dems saw a partial collapse in their vote.

There’s a direct link to McCabe’s Tribune article here.

Mike Smithson

Coming up on PB: Sean Fear – “Looking Forward to Next Year” at 5.30