Bad news for TrotsApp: Leadbeater won the Batley & Spen by-election. Having spent the last few weeks hoping a Labour loss would end Starmer’s leadership and enable a far-left takeover, the socialist crew are now cheering through gritted teeth at the result – all the while keen to remind Sir Keir it only proves he needs their “radical domestic policies” to survive, and pretending they aren’t furious they can’t replace him with John McDonnell. 

• Owen Jones claimed this morning that “a possible electoral disaster is a certainty” if Starmer continues to pursue “more factional warfare”. In other words, if Starmer continues to try and distance himself from the Corbyn golden years.
• Aaron Bastani insisted Labour won by “keeping Starmer at safe distance“, and retweeted the astute analysis of Michael Walker (fellow Novara intellectual), who speculated whether Starmer “would come up with some ideas for once, or just intensify factional war against the left.” Because McDonnell / Rayner / Dawn Butler would be great unifiers…
• Ash Sarkar spent the morning calling Dan Hodges an “idiot pundit” and promoting her new book.

Angela Rayner, meanwhile, has tweeted to congratulate Kim Leadbeater “and the whole Labour team“. Oozing conviction…