They’re right to ask the question. If the answer comes back that May’s plan is harming the Tory campaign machine and electoral prospects, what will they do?
One senior official put it to me starkly: “We should ask a question of the team – are you ready to fight another election in two years? If the answer is yes, then it’s a lie.”
This by-election was ultimately won by the brute force of a massive activist turnout. It was a vivid demonstration of the importance of a party’s grassroots.