How blue was my valley.

The British election was decided early on Friday in the former mining region of Blyth Valley on England's Northumberland coast. ... the Conservatives took a seat held by Labour since its creation in 1950. ... And then the Conservatives took Workington, another deep red seat held by Labour for 97 of the last 100 years.... And then Don Valley fell too, and on it went, the red wall crumbling brick by red brick. ... There won't be any celebrations at The Guardian ... where its election eve editorial announced ... Jeremy Corbyn deserved to win because ... he was "progressive". That a major newspaper could endorse Corbyn, a diehard socialist who campaigned on policies so deeply regressive, tells you the danger of Corbyn's ideas lingering in the soppy brains and bleeding hearts of people who have university degrees but little common sense.

(The Weekend Australian, 14 December.)

Spectator Lowlife columnist, the late Jeffrey Bernard, once wrote something along the lines of you could call down a Yorkshire mine and up would pop a spin bowler.

Now it seems a Tory voter would jump out. If they still had mines, of course.

The left is angry: it doesn't like elections any more:

Movements need parties: revolutionary parties. ... A revolutionary party isn't about helping candidates win elections, which are scheduled regularly and frequently in most capitalist societies. A revolutionary party is about helping ... win revolutions.

University lecturers on sabbatical v. unemployed ex-miners? Bring it on.