Working class Tory votes are not all about flag waving and Brexit. They’re not that hard to understand. Lifelong Labour voters in my own family think Boris has done a brilliant job and it’s not for those reasons. It’s because of furlough and jabs. They feel looked after...

They’ve had their first proper break from work in decades - and been paid for it - and have jobs to return to. The commentariat, who haven’t been furloughed, underestimate how powerfully positive that has been for swathes of people...

My grandad was a communist and raised his children as staunch socialists, but my aunt - who doesn’t read political analysis and doesn’t care about international death charts - thinks Boris is brilliant because furlough has kept food on the table for her children and grandchildren

...and because she and her children have now been vaccinated. It isn’t about Keir Starmer or Labour policy. She is overwhelmed with gratitude for what she sees in her own family. Not easy to compete with that.