The other question is if a Tory-lite New New Labour government could be elected in future, would the degree of seperation from the Tories be enough to make it worth having them? Would their management of the NHS, education, the welfare system etc be enough of shade less cruel than the Tories to allow us to ignore all the other crap that goes with Blue Labour so we can lap up a few crumbs off the table? With mainstream politics in England, are those crumbs now the best we can hope for? And with the wholesale rejection of Labour by Scotland, is it all academic anyway? More questions than answers...

I also wonder if someone can explain Tory voters to me? What makes them tick? Where I live, it's Labour with the Lib Dems as the second biggest party, so I rarely get to discuss politics with Tory voters. I can't believe that all the people in the South, Midlands and pockets of the North who voted Tory are so weathly that they don't feel they need the safety net of a well resourced welfare state for themselves and their families... what drives them? Is it really the politics of 'I'm alright, Jack'? Or are they so surrounded by people who are doing ok for themselves that they can't conceive of the idea that there are swathes of ociety that aren't? Or is it all about swallowing the Tory lie about Labour rather than the bankers being responsible for the global financial disaster? Or are they just looking for a big strong daddy to look after them?