We should be winning back seats lost in 2019. But I have found big dissatisfaction with the national direction of Government on the doorstep.
From Sandwell to Solihull, Bromsgrove to Wolverhampton, Dudley to Tamworth, we have been out to help the amazing local teams who have been working so tirelessly to hold and gain Council seats.
His laudable focus on immediate priorities cannot forever excuse failing to address the big strategic challenges facing Britain.
The tally of candidate nominations offers some encouragement for the Conservatives, with the low number from Reform UK. But an anti-Conservative electoral pact in Waverley may be a source of anxiety.
Asked about Boris Johnson, he adds: “The most critical poll that’s important is does a prime minister have the support of their own backbench MPs?”
He scores better than Starmer in the best Prime Minister stakes, and Labour’s position looks less entrenched than during the mid-1990s – but other good news is very hard to find.
The Conservatives can only have a hope of improving their position if they realise how bad it is.
After a long period leading up to the EU referendum, we have now reached a quiet, post-referendum consensus among the public and the main political parties.
Whilst the polling presents a mixed picture overall, the survey is once again broadly in line with professional pollsters.
The public will react very badly if they come to see the strikes as essentially political, but the Conservatives won’t want to appear unable to govern.
We said Labour would consolidate rather than make dramatic gains. That proved broadly accurate.
Nonetheless, MPs need to act now, before his toxicity with voters taints their perceptions of the Party as a whole.
The President’s words to Congress were warm and embracing of the “freedom-loving” resistance. But those closer to the action have more to lose.
In the event of higher bills and a protracted conflict, polls that indicate a potential softening of support may understate it.
Meanwhile British and American voters both back supporting Kyiv – but differ from the Ukrainians on what that should look like.